Latest Update in the SMM Zinc Market

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[US Fed Interest Rate Cut Expectations Weaken, US Dollar Index Rises, Copper Prices Open Lower] Macro-wise, US Fed's Goolsbee reiterated support for further interest rate cuts and expressed openness to acting at a slower pace. As the market expects fewer interest rate cuts by the US Fed next year, the US dollar index has rebounded, putting pressure on copper prices.

On September 20, Chinese autonomous driving solution provider Hyperview (as known as Hongjing Drive) announced the completion of its C1 round of financing, raising hundreds of millions of yuan, accord...

As of Thursday, September 12, SMM copper stocks in major regions nationwide decreased by 14,400 mt compared to Monday to 216,900 mt and by 38,800 mt compared to last Thursday.

The raw material inventory/output ratio of copper tube enterprises was 4.62% in May, down 0.46 percentage point from the previous month. In recent months, the raw material inventory of copper pipe plants has remained low, mainly due to the significant fluctuations in copper prices. Raw material inventories decreased due to increased orders.

At the beginning of last week, LME zinc prices opened low due to market expectations of Fed rate hikes in the foreseeable future and concerns over US economic growth.

Copper prices have been rising since March 13 following a series of news about "possible production cuts by Chinese smelters." During this period, geopolitical factors, the US dollar trend, favourable macro front in China, and the COMEX short squeeze event pushed copper prices to a historical high in May. As bullish funds retreated from high levels and downstream operations suffered under high copper prices, leading to negative feedback on consumption, copper prices began to decline gradually from June. In early August, the market briefly traded on recession logic, with LME copper falling to $8,714/mt, then rebounding slightly to $9,200/mt. From June to August, during the continuous decline in copper prices, SMM copper cathode social inventory showed a significant destocking trend, but global visible inventory continued to build up.