US zinc scrap prices decreased by 1-2¢/lb on Thursday because of weak demand for the metal.
The weekly Davis Index for zinc galvanizers top dross decreased by a penny to 71¢/lb delivered, while zinc galvanizers bottom dross was unchanged from Feb 27 at 76¢/lb delivered.
The index for new zinc diecast declined by 2¢/lb to 70¢/lb delivered, and remained unchanged for special high grade zinc premium at 8.5¢/lb above LME zinc.
Zinc scrap prices have been decreasing for the past two weeks because of low demand and mounting global inventory. Concerns over Covid-19’s spread, as well as uncertainty over its impact on the US market, has put downward pressure on zinc prices, according to market participants, who are hopeful China’s return to normalcy will soon cause demand and prices to increase.
Weak demand caused global zinc supply to rise for a fourth straight week last week, despite LME warehouse inventory declining slightly to 75,275mt. The three-month LME zinc contract also decreased over the past week to close Thursday at $2,018.5/mt from $2,020/mt on Feb 27.