US zinc secondary alloys prices trended up by 2.5-3¢/lb on Tuesday amid robust demand and rising LME Zinc prices.
The official LME Zinc cash offers closed Tuesday at $1.2778/lb, up from $1.2379/lb last week, while the official three-month LME Zinc contract rose by $91.50/mt from last week, closing Tuesday at $2,848.50/mt from $2,757/mt on Dec 8.
With the annual contracts concluding last week, consumers continue their year-end inventory taking and have held back from placing orders in anticipation of prices correcting. However, the rising demand for zinc alloys especially from the automotive sector as well as the rising LME Zinc market has kept zinc alloys’ spot prices elevated this week too. News of reshoring and more manufacturing orders coming back to the US has also brightened the market sentiment, according to some producers.
The weekly Davis Indexes for all Zamak grades rose by 2.5-2.8¢/lb with Zamak #2 rising the least, by 2.5¢/lb to $1.495/lb. Zamak #5 increased by 2.8¢/lb to $1.483/lb delivered US consumer while both Zamak #3 and Zamak #7 moved up by the same amount to $1.468/lb delivered on Tuesday.
The index for zinc alloys rose by 2.7-3¢/lb on Tuesday. ZA 8 rose by 2.7¢/lb to $1.517/lb delivered US consumer while ZA12 moved up by 2.8¢/lb to $1.539/lb delivered. ZA 27 saw the highest rise of all grades, climbing by 3¢/lb to $1.56/lb delivered US consumer.
Consumers could likely resume purchasing after the Christmas holidays if prices are more in line with their estimates, according to some market participants.