Lead, zinc prices should recover in Q4 2012: bank

摘要

The downside to lead and zinc prices isnlimited, which should see markets bottomnout in the third quarter of 2012 followednby a recovery in the fourth quarter,nSociete Generale said in a daily researchnnote released Friday. The bank added thatnit favored the upside on lead because ofnbetter supply and demand fundamentalsnand the extent of short positioning. Zinc,non the other hand, remains structurallynoversupplied and London Metal Exchangenwarehouse stocks are likely to rise further.nStill, SG said that for both metals,n“unless we get a hard landing in China, ornglobal recession, the downside to lead andnzinc prices should be limited from here.”nIt added that marginal production costsnshould help to restrict the downside, with anrecovery in the fourth quarter expected onnthe seasonal demand pickup traditionallynassociated with the post-summer period