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General Market Commentary
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General Base Metals
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General Market Commentary
China zinc smelters plan to cut output by 10 percent: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s top zinc smelters plan to cut output by 10 percent after holding a meeting in Shaanxi province to address low zinc prices and treatment charges, two sources briefed on the matter said on Thursday.
Lead and zinc companies attended the meeting on Thursday morning, one of the sources said, and both said it was not certain that production would actually be cut.
China, the world’s biggest zinc producer, churned out 457,000 tonnes of the metal, used to galvanize steel, in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Shanghai zinc prices rose by 1.5 percent on Thursday but are still down by 5.3 percent so far this quarter, while London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc hit a 10-month low on Tuesday amid rising inventories.
LME zinc climbed by 1.3 percent to $2,914 per ton as of 1113 GMT on Thursday but is still down 11 percent so far this quarter and 6 percent this month.