Prices for zinc alloys fell by a penny or two across grades on Tuesday as market participants shied away from trading amid LME Zinc volatility.
After a wave of price jumps, traders saw a quiet week as many market participants remained on the sidelines, waiting for the market to settle. However, some participants decided to make purchases out to December at the currently favorable lower rates.
The official LME Zinc cash price settled Tuesday at $2,919/mt ($1.324.lb), down $30/mt from last week.
The weekly Davis Index for Zamak #2 fell 1.5¢/lb to $1.56/lb delivered US consumer. Zamak #5 moved down 2.2¢/lb to $1.538/lb delivered. Zamak #3 and #5 declined by 1.5¢/lb to $1.517/lb delivered.
Among the ZA grades, the Davis Index for ZA27 dropped 1.9¢/lb to $1.666/lb delivered. ZA8 fell by the same amount to $1.566/lb delivered. The index for ZA12 settled at $1.60/lb, down 1.5¢/lb from the prior week.
Market participants expect prices to move upward for the foreseeable future with production issues caused by labor shortages as well as transportation costs, that will spur pricing up.