US zinc secondary alloys prices gained 2-3¢/lb on Tuesday as market sentiment remained bullish and LME Zinc prices increased.
LME Zinc cash offers rose in tandem with other base metal prices to close at $1.33/lb on Tuesday, up 5¢/lb from the previous week, while the official three-month LME Zinc contract soared by $122.50/mt from Apr 20 to $2,928.50/mt today.
The weekly Davis Index for Zamak #2 increased by 2.1¢/lb to $1.516/lb delivered US consumer with Zamak #3 and Zamak #7 rising by 2.2¢/lb to $1.487/lb delivered, respectively. Zamak #5 climbed by the same amount to $1.503/lb delivered.
ZA 8 and ZA 12 both increased by 2.1¢/lb to $1.536/lb delivered and $1.556/lb delivered US consumer, respectively, while ZA 27 climbed by 3.2¢/lb to $1.587/lb delivered.
The zinc alloys market is benefiting from strong demand in the automotive and steel sectors. Still, orders from these industries are expected to soften by the middle of this quarter as the semiconductor chip shortage weighs on them. Suppliers, however, remain bullish on demand for zinc alloys owing to the booming domestic construction market, that is likely to absorb the impact of the weakness in the automotive sector.