The weekly Davis Index for new zinc diecast surged by 9¢/lb to 70¢/lb delivered US consumer on Thursday, as automotive plants resumed activity this week after COVID-19 forced them shut.
Tight supply and demand coming back to life upon factory restarts has caused new zinc diecast—a key galvanizing component in the manufacturing of auto parts and bodies—prices to rise significantly this week after being flat to down through most of May.
However, the indices for zinc galvanizers bottom dross and zinc galvanizers top dross were unchanged at 73¢/lb delivered US consumer and 68¢/lb delivered, respectively, on Thursday. The index for special high-grade zinc premium was also flat at 8.5¢/lb delivered under the three-month LME contract.
The three-month official LME zinc contract closed Thursday at $1,993.5/mt, up by $53/mt from $1,940.5/mt on May 14. However, LME zinc movements have been muted over the past week, especially on news that German zinc producer Metallwerk Dinslaken is closing. The company cited mounting losses from weak customer demand, a consequence of COVID-19, as one of the reasons for its closure.