US zinc scrap prices climbed on Thursday after the LME Zinc market crossed the $3,000/mt mark for the second time in two weeks.
The three-month official LME zinc contract increased today to close at $3,062/mt $2,962.50/mt up by $99.50/mt from May 20.
Still, zinc scrap prices inched up slightly ahead of the Memorial Day holiday as rising costs and prices have made buyers wary of stocking too much. On the other hand, improving scrap flows have also balanced the supply-demand gap with suppliers taking advantage of the higher prices to sell as much of their inventory as they can before prices decline.
The weekly Davis Index for zinc galvanizers bottom dross rose by 0.3¢/lb to 87.8¢/lb delivered US consumer while zinc galvanizers top dross increased by 0.4¢/lb to 88.2¢/lb delivered.
New zinc diecast continued its increase from last week, rising by 2¢/lb to 89.5¢/lb delivered US consumer. Offers for this material were heard as high as 90-91¢/lb though no deals were confirmed at those levels.
In the primary market, higher LME Zinc prices also saw the Davis Index special high-grade zinc premium climb from 0.3¢/lb to 8.5¢/lb delivered. Globally, supply of special high-grade zinc remains tight in the Asian market, especially in India.