Prices for US zinc scrap trended flat across most grades as demand softened amid supply chain constraints.
The weekly Davis Index for new zinc diecast was flat at 75.8¢/lb delivered US consumer on Thursday. The index for zinc galvanizers top dross and zinc galvanizers bottom dross inched down by 0.1¢/lb to 69.7¢/lb delivered US consumer and 72.7¢/lb delivered, respectively, as galvanizing lines remained offline through most of last week.
The index for special high-grade zinc premium also remained unchanged at 8.5¢/lb delivered, under the three-month LME contract.
The market didn’t benefit from the initial surge in demand and volumes have remained soft.
Moreover, galvanizers have not restarted operations yet, which has impacted the automotive supply chain. Though scrap dealers anticipate flows will normalize by the end of Q3 2020, the market remains uncertain in the short-term because COVID-19 cases are rising in states that have reopened and sparked fears of renewed shutdowns.
LME zinc rose yet again during the week, despite market uncertainties, with the three-month official LME zinc contract closing Thursday at $2,043/mt, up by $29/mt from $2,014/mt on June 11.