Zinc: Further supply cuts proposed by Nyrstar

摘要

Traders have been frustrated for much of the last year as a result of little movement in spot TCs. Ourtabulations also show a roughly balanced global market for zinc concentrate in January-September. Itwould have been tempting to view the small fall in the spot TCs in September as an early indication ofimpending market tightness, but this was perhaps nothing more than a symptom of a widening arb.While we already expected the market to move into deficit in October-December as a result of thelong-awaited exhaustions of Century and Lisheen, Glencore’s mine cutbacks have reinforced ourexpectation that it will not be long before all of today’s smelters can no longer operate fully.