Zinc futures were trading below $3,100 per tonne, hovering near their lowest levels since December, weighed down by rising inventories and subdued demand. Stocks in China continued to build, reaching relatively high levels compared with recent years. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, zinc inventories increased by 3.3% over the week, while LME stocks also remained elevated.
On the supply side, global availability has been bolstered by the restart of Boliden’s Tara mine and the ramp-up of Ivanhoe’s Kipushi project, together with a strong year-on-year increase in output from Peru. These factors have largely offset concerns about tightness in certain parts of the market, ongoing mine disruptions, and historically low inventories in some regions.
Demand, meanwhile, has been slower to recover than expected, despite some encouraging signals from China, where industrial production grew 6.3% year-on-year in the first two months of 2026. Further pressure on zinc prices has come from a firm US dollar, underpinned by safe-haven flows amid the continuing conflict in the Middle East.
