Asia tight as South Korean suppliers fully committed

摘要

Both Korea Zinc and LS Nikko are fully committed with no spot availability for Q1 and beyond, according to sources at the companies, with spot availability from Japan also reported tight. Sellers peg notional spot numbers at $15-20/mt FOB, though some traders have suggested numbers slightly lower. The tight availability is expected to persist given turnarounds at LS Nikko’s smelter in Onsan and Mitsubishi’s smelter in Naoshima in February and March, while planned maintenance at Glencore’s PASAR smelter in the Philippines through much of Q2 is adding to producer bullishness on prices.