Zinc galvanizer’s dross offers climbed by 1pc while most other zinc grades fell in line with LME zinc over the week. The official LME zinc three-month contract fell by $16.5/mt to $2,845/mt on Thursday (December 24) from previous Friday levels. LME was closed on Friday (December 25).
The weekly Davis Index for zinc galvanizer’s dross in Mumbai settled at Rs194,000/mt ($2,638/mt) ex-works producer, up by Rs2,333/mt on healthy demand despite high offers. Demand for dross remained firm in Delhi too, said traders. The weekly Index for zinc galvanizer’s dross in Delhi settled at Rs195,944/mt ex-works producer, up by Rs1,111/mt. Demand for dross is well supported by zinc oxide manufacturers on the back of strong demand from tyre manufacturers.
Markets for zinc dross in Delhi and Mumbai strengthened as spreads narrowed for the scrap grade. The spread for Delhi index narrowed by 1.24pc while the spread for Mumbai index widened by 1.82pc.
The weekly Davis Index for secondary zinc ingot in Delhi fell slightly by Rs 100/mt to Rs199,900/mt ex-works consumer on Monday. Market for secondary zinc ingot in Delhi strengthened as spreads for the ingot widened by 0.68pc from the previous week. Prices are slightly down in Delhi on the back of low demand from brass manufacturers who are resisting the high prices.
In Mumbai, the weekly Index for secondary zinc ingot settled at Rs195,200/mt ex-works consumer, down by Rs550/mt. The market for the grade in Mumbai also strengthened with spreads for the index expanding by 0.45pc. Prices of secondary zinc ingot in Delhi and Mumbai widely differed from one source to another.
The weekly Davis Index for new zinc diecast settled at $2,112/mt, a dollar lower from the week prior. Demand from Indian buyers continues to be strong but some traders are holding back buying until their stock is cleared, in the hopes that prices would fall during the holidays.
The weekly Index for Zamak #3 Monday settled at Rs241,500/mt del India consumer, down by Rs3,925/mt. Prices dipped for the first time in December for zinc alloys in line with raw material prices, i.e primary zinc and LME. The weekly Index for Zamak #5 fell by Rs3,925/mt to Rs244,500/mt del India consumer. Markets for Zamak #3 and Zamak #5 weakened as spreads for the indexes narrowed by almost 1pc from the previous week.
Prices of primary zinc on Monday was quoted around Rs228,000-238,000/mt across India, down from Rs230,000-240,000/mt the previous Monday. Galvanizer’s and Zamak manufacturers use primary zinc as raw materials and a dip in prices ideally should have also brought down prices of dross. If primary prices fall further in line with LME, prices of dross should also decline, however, galvanizers are reluctant to do so if demand stays strong.
($1=Rs73.52)