US zinc secondary alloys prices moved up by around 2¢/lb on Tuesday after taking a short breather last week in line with an uptrend that has lasted through most of July on LME zinc.
LME zinc took a pause at the end of last month but continued its upward surge in the first week of August amid tight supply and rising inventories in LME warehouses. The official LME zinc cash offers closed Tuesday at $1.0451 inching up from $1.006/lb on July 28. The official three-month LME zinc contract surged by $100/mt over last week to close at $2,315/mt on Tuesday from $2,215/mt on July 28.
The weekly Davis Index rose by around 2¢/lb for all Zamak grades. Zamak #2 increased to $1.243/lb delivered US consumer on Tuesday, while Zamak #5 was slightly lower, moving up by 1.9¢/lb to $1.23/lb delivered. Zamak #3 and Zamak #7 both jumped to $1.219/lb delivered on Tuesday.
The indexes for zinc alloys ticked up by 1.5-2¢/lb. ZA27 saw the smallest rise of the three alloy grades, with the Davis Index for the material moving up by 1.5¢/lb to $1.303/lb delivered US consumer. ZA 12 rose by 1.9¢/lb to $1.28/lb delivered on Tuesday, while ZA 8 saw the biggest increase in zinc alloys, rising by 2¢/lb to $1.258/lb delivered.
The zinc alloys market continues to be buoyed by improved manufacturing volumes across the US, despite concerns remaining over supply chain disruptions. The latest manufacturing PMI released on August 3 indicated that manufacturing grew for the third consecutive month in July pointing to a steady improvement in the sector.
However, the ISM data also indicated that supply remains a concern for manufacturers as raw materials inventories contracted in July amid depleting customer inventories that suggest a rising demand and consumption pattern.