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Leading importer Vietnam has a hard time to recycle plastic waste
Countless discarded bags float on the canal going through Minh Khai village, whose narrow streets are obstructed with high stacks of plastic waste spilling out from villagers' front lawns and stacked near furnaces where nonrecyclable scrap is burned. This socalled plastic recycling craft town, an hour's. drive from Vietnam's capital Hanoi, is where a few of the plastic. arranged for recycling in Japan, America and Europe ends up for. final treatment. Delegates at a United Nations summit in South Korea this week. are talking about brand-new worldwide guidelines that could restrict that trade,. which U.N. data shows deserved $3.8 billion in 2015. Stricter. domestic requirements on waste imports will likewise apply. in Vietnam from next year. The Southeast Asian country has actually become a significant importer. of plastic scrap recently after China, when the top. player in the industry, prohibited imports in 2018. Vietnam was the. world's 4th biggest importer in 2022, according to the. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Advancement (OECD). But that rise in imports has actually taken place as the nation is. struggling to recycle even its own plastic waste. Extra constraints could minimize the trade however the big. size of the domestic informal market might make it hard to. monitor industrial flows and recycling rates, experts and. officials said. FROM SORTING TO LANDFILLS. More than one quarter of Vietnam's plastic recycling capacity is. concentrated in craft villages like Minh Khai, the World Bank. stated in a 2021 report, noting that extra capacity to procedure. imported plastic totaled up to 300,000 metric tons. That was well short of the 420,000 tons of plastic scrap. Vietnam imported last year, which was up 11% from 2022,. according to U.N. data, which does not catch the whole. volume. Vietnam's environment ministry did not reply to requests for. updated figures. Scientists have discovered that recycling is being hindered by. the inability to effectively arrange plastic waste, both offshore and. in Vietnam. Only 30% of plastic waste generated in Vietnam is. sorted, stated a government-backed WWF report in 2023. As a result, in spite of shipment expenses, Vietnam's recyclers. depend on higher-quality foreign plastic scrap, according to. FiinGroup, a research study firm. However price quotes recommend Vietnam recycles just up to one-third. of the imported plastic waste, stated a term paper published. in January. That is partially due to the fact that some imported plastic is often mixed. with natural waste that makes it hard or impossible to deal with,. stated one of the paper's authors, Kaustubh Thapa, from the. Netherlands' Utrecht University. A recycler at Minh Khai village was more upbeat. The quantity. of imported waste that can't be recycled is often about 5% of. the volume, however sometimes it increases to 25%, said Chi, who. decreased to provide his complete name. Many people contacted in the village personally or by phone. declined to talk with media for worry of effects on their. activities. Much of the unrecycled plastic is discarded in unsanitary. garbage dumps, and about 15% of that is directly launched into the. environment and the oceans, the WWF report said. Exporting waste for recycling to destinations without noise. recycling capacity raises questions of fairness and. sustainability, concluded the research paper by Thapa and. co-authors.
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China draws up seaborne thermal coal, however domestic output caps prices: Russell
China's. seaborne imports of thermal coal are on track to surge to an. alltime high in November as the world's most significant buyer of the. power station fuel ramps up electricity generation. However the strong hunger for imports isn't increasing the. prices of seaborne grades, which are being kept low by falling. costs for China's domestic supplies. Imports of thermal coal are estimated at 37.5 million metric. heaps for November, up from 32.12 million in October and the. highest in information put together by commodity experts Kpler going back. to 2017. The spike in seaborne thermal coal imports comes ahead of. peak winter need and as the world's second-biggest economy. increases coal-fired generation amid weaker output from. hydropower plants. Nevertheless, the strength in China's need for seaborne thermal. coal isn't being matched by the rest of Asia, with other top. importers such as India and Japan showing stable to somewhat. weaker arrivals in recent months. Top thermal coal exporters Indonesia and Australia are also. needing to compete against China's domestic supplies, and the. regional rate has been trending lower as production increases. The rate of thermal coal at China's Qinhuangdao. , as examined by specialists SteelHome, dropped. to 830 yuan($ 114.64) a ton on Monday, below 835 yuan at the. previous close. The benchmark grade has actually been trending lower given that early. October, and is now down 5.1% from the current peak of 875 yuan a. heap on Oct. 9. The softer domestic rate has indicated that seaborne rates. have actually been not able to move higher, despite the strong import. need from China. Indonesian coal with an energy material of 4,200 kilocalories. per kilogram (kcal/kg), as evaluated by. commodity cost reporting agency Argus, ended last week at. $ 52.19 a ton, down from $52.34 the previous week. The price has shifted somewhat greater, getting 4.2% since. hitting a 41-month low of $50.08 a load in late August. The modest increase in the cost contrasts with the strong. gain in volumes, with China's imports of Indonesian thermal coal. poised to hit a record 25.32 million loads in November, up from. 22.24 million in October, according to Kpler information. AUSTRALIAN COAL China is also purchasing cargoes from Australia, the. second-biggest exporter of thermal coal behind Indonesia, with. November imports estimated at a record 7.84 million tons, up. from 5.35 million in October. China tends to favour Australian coal priced versus the. 5,500 kcal/kg benchmark, which was up to $87.60 a. ton in the week to Nov. 22, down from $88.12 the previous week and. down 3.7% because the current peak of $90.97 in early October. It appears that Indonesian and Australian exporters are. selecting to keep their rates competitive in the China market in. order to ensure strong growth in export volumes. China might well continue to import high volumes of thermal. coal provided rising electrical energy output, with thermal generation,. which is generally coal-fired, getting 1.8% in October from the. exact same month in 2023, according to main information released on Nov. 15. The increase in thermal power output came as hydropower moved. 14.9% in October year-on-year, the 2nd straight month of. decline. China's output of coal also increased in October, getting. 4.6% from the very same month in 2023 to 411.8 million lots. It's most likely that coal miners will attempt to further lift. production this month and next after the state-owned asset. regulator urged greater output to meet winter demand. The overall picture is among strength for China's coal. sector, with increasing domestic production and surging imports. being sufficient to fulfill demand and therefore prevent a rally in. rates. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist. .
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Dollar climbs up, stocks retreat after Trump swears tariffs
The dollar rallied sharply on Tuesday after U.S. Presidentelect Donald Trump pledged tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico, and additional tariffs on China. Asian stocks decreased, giving back some of the robust gains of the previous session, when they were buoyed by the election of fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, considered by investors as a voice for Wall Street in Washington. Bessent's consultation had also led to a sharp fall in U.S. yields as investors scooped up Treasury bonds, sending the dollar moving in the previous session. It's practically as if Trump wants to advise markets who is in control, after nominating Scott Bessent as Treasury Sec - a man markets anticipated to cool Trump's effectiveness, said Matt Simpson, senior market expert at City Index. With the Canadian dollar increasing against the Mexican peso, markets are presuming this will strike Mexico the hardest. The dollar jumped 1.5% to 20.5810 Mexican pesos since 0549 GMT on Tuesday, and climbed up 0.9% to C$ 1.4115. It reinforced 0.25% to 7.2644 yuan in offshore trading , after earlier reaching the greatest given that late July at 7.2730 yuan. Australia's risk-sensitive dollar - which also tends to show the outlook for leading trading partner China - declined 0.25% to $0.6488, after earlier dipping to $0.64335 for the first time since Aug. 5. It was simply last month that Trump said that 'the most gorgeous word in the dictionary is tariff', so there truly ought to not have actually been a surprise in Trump's intent, simply in the timing of the remarks, stated Sean Callow, a senior FX expert at ITC Markets. The fall in trade-sensitive currencies makes good sense, and must persist near term. Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.4%, giving back Monday's gains, as financiers considered the risks of tariffs on the nation's numerous heavyweight exports, especially car manufacturers. Toyota slid more than 2% and Nissan tumbled nearly 4%. Australia's stock standard relieved 0.69%, a day after rising to a record high. Taiwan's share index lost 0.9%. Nevertheless, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat, while mainland blue chips eased 0.2%, after fluctuating between small gains and losses. Trump stated in a post on Truth Social that on his very first day in office he would impose a 25% tariff on all items from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10% tariff on items from China, pointing out concerns over illegal immigration and the trade of illicit drugs. Trump has previously threatened to slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60%. It's definitely a shock to the marketplace and weighing on Chinese assets, especially the export sectors, said Gary Ng, senior financial expert at Natixis. But compared to what he troubled Canada and Mexico, the magnitude (of the Chinese tariff) is not that big, so investors might still wish to see what are the follow ups and when/if the 60% guaranteed will actually come through. U.S. S&P 500 futures pointed 0.1% lower following a. 0.3% gain in the money index over night. Pan-European STOXX 50 futures dropped 0.9%. The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.0475. Sterling. lost 0.17% to $1.2548. At the same time, the dollar compromised 0.3% to 153.66 yen. , after at first reinforcing following Trump's. tariff remarks. The dollar-yen set tends to track long-lasting U.S. Treasury yields, which ticked up about 2 basis. indicate 4.2809% in Tokyo, however following a 15 basis-point slide. on Monday. Bitcoin increased 1% to $94,661, finding its feet. following a pullback from last week's record high at $99,830. The token has actually gained from speculation of a simpler regulatory. environment for cryptocurrencies under Trump. Gold caught the dollar's strength, dipping to a. one-week low of $2,604.99. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was. down 0.4% at $9,010.50 per metric heap, while the most-traded. January copper agreement on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. reduced 0.1% to 73,900 yuan a load. Oil rates rebounded somewhat from the previous session's. depression as investors weighed a prospective ceasefire between Israel. and Hezbollah. Brent crude futures included 0.25% to $73.19 a barrel,. while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased. 0.23% to $69.10 a barrel. Both criteria settled $2 per. barrel on Monday.
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Worldwide renewal in protective commercial policies, EBRD states
An international renewal in industrial policies that intend to enhance or secure domestic interests threatens worldwide cooperation and could hurt poorer countries in particular, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said in an annual report. The annual shifts report, which this year analyzed information impacting trade for 140 countries, found a impressive global renewal in strategic interventions created to shape nations' economies. Industrial policy is back with a vengeance, Beata Javorcik, EBRD Chief Economist said in an interview. It is back in rich countries in addition to in emerging markets. Such policies typically include state-backed grants or loans or aids for regional market; 90% of those in innovative economies and EBRD areas victimize foreign interests in favour of domestic ones. The report found that such policies have actually increased rapidly considering that 2019 due to elements including boosting the green transition, following the lead of major economies such as China or the United States, and since residents significantly back a. higher state role in the economy. The report found that while such policies can be efficient,. when they are not thoroughly managed they risk weakening the. equal opportunity. This means that industrial policy can end up being a force that. will push the world towards fragmentation, Javorcik said. The report, from the EBRD's workplace of the primary economist,. was the very first put together by it with making use of Artificial. Intelligence, which researchers utilized to crunch information from the. Global Trade Alert database. Javorcik said the financial turmoil in recent years - due to. globalisation, automation, the green transition and now AI - had. enhanced support for greater state involvement - especially. amongst those born before 1975. The increasing use of such policies in lower-income. nations that have restricted administrative capabilities is. particularly worrying, Javorcik stated, as they tend to choose. the most distortive, such as import or export bans or export. licensing, which bring risk of corruption.
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Copper falls on firm dollar, Trump's tariffs plan
Copper costs fell on Tuesday, weighed down by a stronger U.S. dollar and U.S. Presidentelect Donald Trump's pledge to impose more tariffs on Chinese products. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME). was down 0.4% at $9,010.50 per metric ton by 0442 GMT,. while the most-traded January copper agreement on the Shanghai. Futures Exchange (SHFE) alleviated 0.1% to 73,900 yuan. ($ 10,187.48) a lot. On Monday, Trump vowed an additional 10% tariff on goods. from China and a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and. Canada from his very first day in office. China accounts for around half of the world's metals. intake and manufactures most of the world's items. The proposed tariffs will likely hurt economic development and. disrupt trade circulations, which might eventually reduce the. intake of metals. The strategy pressed the dollar higher versus major currencies,. making greenback-priced metals more pricey to holders of. other currencies. A broker said the fall in metals prices was minimal since. the market had actually already reacted to the tariffs plan after Trump. won the White House on Nov. 5 and as some traders were anticipating. higher tariffs on China. China's peak demand season, which covers from November to. December, has likewise avoided an additional decrease in copper rates,. with SHFE stocks falling and import premiums rising to a. one-month high of $53 a lot . LME copper is likewise supported around the $9,000 rate level,. the broker said. On Tuesday, LME aluminium fell 0.5% to $2,638 a heap,. nickel eased 0.1% to $16,195, zinc rose 0.6% to. $ 3,037.50, lead was down 0.6% at $2,017.50 and tin. edged up 0.2% at $29,040. SHFE aluminium rose 0.2% to 20,570 yuan a heap,. nickel climbed 1.1% to 128,460 yuan, zinc. climbed 1.8% to 25,250 yuan, lead sophisticated 0.3% to. 17,220 yuan, while tin was almost flat at 242,780 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click. or
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Vulcan in talks with producers to licence lithium technology
Australialisted Vulcan Energy is in talks with lithium companies to licence its filtering technology, tapping a brand-new profits source as the firm commercialises its renewableenergy job in Germany, the CEO stated on Tuesday. Vulcan started producing lithium hydroxide previously this month from its Rhine Valley operations utilizing adsorption direct lithium extraction (A-DLE) - utilizing geothermal heat to extract lithium from brine deposits. DLE is expected to reshape the lithium market by speeding the production procedure of the metal used in EV batteries and electronic devices to hours or days, compared with months or longer. Vulcan has signed up with the ranks of companies like Eramet , and Exxon Mobil aiming to make the innovation commonplace. We are talking with all sorts, including designers and manufacturers. If you have a four-to-five-year window to get into production, you need to act now, CEO Cris Moreno informed Reuters. There's also manufacturers out there that are trying to get an additional 1-2% of performance. Moreno said such performance gains represent a great deal of money for large manufacturers. Vulcan is in the last of finalising a 1.4 billion euro ($ 1.47 billion) funding package to develop a business center in Landau that is set to start production in 2027. Its lithium hydroxide is going to clients like Stellantis for quality screening in the meantime. The lithium and energy producer anticipates to finalise commitment letters on the 40% financial obligation part of its financing by Christmas and secure strategic equity by the very first quarter of next year. It was awarded 100 million euros in financing from Germany this month for the project, whose geothermal heat will help decarbonise the Landau district.
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Indian federal government to revamp infrastructure loan provider IFCI, sources state
India will revamp operations of nonbank lending institution IFCI Ltd by shutting its lending operations following capital constraints and converting it into a facilities advisory firm, 2 government sources informed Reuters on Tuesday. IFCI, introduced in 1949 right after the country's. self-reliance, was asked to stop fresh lending in 2021-22 after. bad loans soared, depleting the lending institution's capital and liquidity. Indian federal government owns almost 72% of IFCI. The federal financing ministry and IFCI did not right away. respond to a request for remark. The sources stayed confidential. as they were not authorised to speak to the media. The revamp comes as the South Asian country is rapidly. buying its facilities sector, increasing its costs. more than 3 times in five years to 11.11 trillion rupees. ($ 131.89 billion) for 2024/25. Based on the strategy, IFCI will not resume lending, instead. broadening the scope of its infrastructure advisory service to. include assessment for state federal governments infrastructure and. green projects, the very first source said. They included that the federal government wants the company to. duplicate the project advisory practices of SBI Capital Markets,. the financial investment banking arm of State Bank of India, the country's. largest lender by possessions. The federal government plans to instill 5 billion rupees into IFCI. this year, and any more capital infusion will be to guarantee. there are no defaults in repayment dedications of IFCI, the 2. sources said. IFCI's shares fell 0.8% on the day. They closed 11.3% greater. on Monday, after the board approved its merger with its. subsidiary StockHolding Corp. of India on Friday, based on the. suggestion of the federal financing ministry. The stock has actually gained 121% so far this year, compared to a. 10% rise in the benchmark Nifty 50. The revival plan likewise includes monetising IFCI's realty. properties and renting its workplace, one of the sources added. The non-bank loan provider made 427 million rupees through rental. earnings and earned a profit of 1.3 billion rupees in financial 2024.
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Uncertainty Surrounds Guyana Gas Development
Doubts are growing over Guyana's pick of a little-known U.S. startup to craft and develop projects to monetize its vast untapped natural gas resources that could cost up to $30 billion. Year-old Fulcrum LNG faces financing hurdles that could derail its selection. Ultimately, the South American nation may end up relying on a consortium led by Exxon Mobil, which controls all the production in the new energy hotspot. So far the top U.S. oil producerhas focused on oil.Guyana has been pressing Exxon to come up with a plan to convert its about 16 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves into valuable exports such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), or relinquish areas where gas has been discovered so they can be developed by others.When Fulcrum was chosen in June, its founder and former Exxon executive Jesus Bronchalo said on LinkedIn he was "delighted and honored" to be selected "to design, finance, construct and operate the required gas infrastructure."Since then, Fulcrum has not identified any financial backers, casting doubt over its ability to pull off the work, and leading government officials to now describe its selection as tentative. "No project has been awarded to anyone. We're in an exploratory phase," Guyana's Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told Reuters last month. That is a change from the ministry of finance's description of the awarding of the contract as among its economic achievements this year. Guyana's president, who announced the award, said an agreement, that may or may not include Exxon, was expected next year.Meanwhile, the opposition People's National Congress party is skeptical about the award. Fulcrum LNG "lacks requisite experience and a demonstrated ability to raise the type of multi-billion dollar finances required," said Elson Low, an economist and advisor to the PNC.FULCRUM'S LEVERAGEGuyana picked Nevada-registered Fulcrum LNG, which it said offered "the most comprehensive and technically sound proposal," among the 17 bidders, including China's third-largest oil firm CNOOC, U.S. gas pipeline giant Energy Transfer, and the No. 4 U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global LNG.Ira Joseph, an LNG market expert and senior researcher at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, said it would be "very difficult" for a startup to raise the financing for a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project. "Why isn't Exxon building the LNG plant itself? It is very hard to raise that kind of money to make a project work, (Guyana) would have to bring in one of the big players like TotalEnergies or Shell," Joseph said. Besides pairing with U.S. oil service Baker Hughes and construction contractor McDermott , Fulcrum's proposal would include financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the participation of private equity firms and an environmental partner, the government said.The U.S. Export-Import Bank and McDermott did not reply to requests for comment, and Baker Hughes referred questions to Fulcrum. Bronchalo, who is Fulcrum's CEO, secretary, treasurer, director and president, and the only other person associated with the company, the technical director, did not respond to requests for information.Exxon's consortium with Hess and CNOOC has discovered more than 11 billion barrels of oil off Guyana's Caribbean coast since 2015, and produced 500 million barrels of crude from its Stabroek block since 2019, turning the tiny country overnight into a significant global oil producer. So far, Exxon's only planned use for the gas is a small gas-to-power project.The project to develop gas independently was conceived as a way for Guyana to create a new revenue stream apart from the oil, which is entirely exported. Gas would develop the country’s manufacturing and food sectors and help make it a regional energy powerhouse.Last year, the country's take from royalties and fees was $1.6 billion, compared with $6.33 billion in profit that went to the consortium. Exxon's Guyana country manager Alistair Routledge told Reuters the company would make a decision on tapping newer discoveries containing mostly gas by mid-2025. Fulcrum "may have better data and more knowledge than the government to push Exxon in that direction," said Guyana's vice president. Jagdeo said Guyana wants Fulcrum to work with Exxon, but would push forward with or without it. If, however, Exxon does not act on the discoveries or auction the acreage to others willing to develop the gas, Guyana could claw back some offshore land, he said.(Reuters)
Andy Home: Smelter charges fall as zinc mine supplies falter
The benchmark zinc smelter charges have dropped sharply in the past year. This is a testament to the tightening up of mine supply chains.
Teck Resources, a Canadian miner, has agreed to pay Korea Zinc an additional $165 per ton of zinc concentrate to refine it into metal. This is a reduction from last year's $274 for the same shipments.
In recent years, the terms of agreement negotiated annually by these two companies set the standard for the rest.
During times of surplus raw materials, treatment charges increase and fall during periods of shortage.
The numbers last year were high due to a smelter shortage and the resulting surplus of mined concentrates in 2022. The low result this year reveals a lot about the changes in zinc's supply over the past 12 months.
The availability of concentrates has been affected by a string of mine closings, many due to a weakening price environment.
FALLING MINE - PRODUCTION
London Metal Exchange (LME), zinc prices went from boom to crash in 2022 and 2023. The three-month price fell from a high of $4896 per tonne in March 2022, to a low of $2215 in may 2023.
Price implosion has caused the closure of several high-cost mines, including Boliden’s Tara Mine in Ireland, Nyrstar’s Middle Tennessee operations, and Toho Zinc’s Rasp Mine in Australia.
According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, the increasing number of deaths in mining caused the global zinc output to decline by 1.4% per year between 2023 and 2024. This was the second consecutive decline following a 2.6% decrease in 2022.
This year could be no better.
The fire that occurred at the Ozernoy Mine in Russia on November 11th has caused a delay to the commissioning of one of the largest additions to global output this year.
Ozernoy is capable of producing 350 000 tons of zinc-containing ore every year. However, it does not appear likely that the company will restart concentrating the ore until at least the fourth quarter of 2018.
ILZSG's last biannual meeting was held in October. The Group predicted a 3.9% increase in the mined production this year. This is starting to sound optimistic, and could be revised when the Group meets in spring 2024.
SOLVENT RECOVERY
Global smelter output has rebounded strongly since 2022, despite the continued decline in mine production.
According to Shanghai Metal Market, the main driver for higher smelter production has been China. Producers increased refined metal output to 6.6 millions tons in 2023. This represents a 10.9% increase year-on-year.
This collective performance helped the global output recover 3.8% in 2018 after a similar dip in 2022.
It is true that there are still smelters in Western countries struggling with high energy costs, like Nyrstar’s Budel plant, which closed in the Netherlands in January.
The Nordenham smelter, in Germany, has ramped up production after spending a year on maintenance and care.
The sharp decline in the benchmark treatment charge is due to the disparity between the weak performance of global mines and the resurgent demand for concentrates by smelters.
As smelters compete for materials, spot terms have declined further. Fastmarkets, a price reporting agency, estimates that concentrates delivered to Chinese ports are worth $50-80 a ton.
METAL GLUT
It is not yet possible to discern any impact of the tightening in the raw zinc materials portion of the production process on the balance for refined metal.
Zinc is the least popular metal on the LME, despite the fact that macroeconomic conditions are improving. LME metal three-months, currently trading at $2,700 a ton, is only up 3.0% since the beginning of the year. Copper, on the other hand, has seen a 10% increase.
Due to its use as galvanised steel, the metal is highly exposed to the construction industry. This sector of the economy is particularly weak in China and around the world.
There is no shortage in refined zinc, as smelting has increased over the past 12 months.
Over the course of 2023, LME inventories recovered from 27,750 tonnes to 223,225. The LME stocks have increased by 37,000 tons this year due to intermittent bursts in warranting activity.
The LME time-spreads indicate that there could be more metal surplus on the market.
The benchmark period is three months of cash
The ZINC Plot Has a Twist
Analysts predicted that this year would be the second consecutive year with a significant zinc surplus.
ILZSG predicted a massive global glut of 367,000 tons when it met in Oct. In a poll conducted in January, base metal analysts expected a surplus of 300,000 tons. One of the eleven analysts who offered a forecast on supply-demand balance expected too much metal.
Zinc concentrates are a segment that is experiencing a tightening of the market. As a result, expectations have been adjusted.
Macquarie Bank analysts, for instance, now predict a modest 61,000 ton supply deficit in the coming year.
In its "Commodities Compendium" quarterly report for March, the bank stated that "given the tight market for concentrates, we have reduced the global refined production forecast this year to -0.4%".
Due to feed shortages, the growth of Chinese production will likely slow to only 0.5%.
Macquarie reports that several Chinese smelters already accelerated maintenance or reduced run-rates to counter the margin compression due to low treatment fees. These treatment fees account for 40% of typical smelter profits.
The bank is expecting a return of surplus in the next year, but there could be some bumps on the price roller coaster as this year's zinc story has already taken an unexpected turn.
The author is a columnist.
(source: Reuters)