The largest zinc delivery in nearly five years has swung zinc's London Metal Exchange cash/three-month spread into contango for the first time in 2018.
Some 78,950 tonnes were delivered into LME-approved warehouses in New Orleans on Monday March 5 - the largest inflow since July 2013, increasing on-warrant stock levels by 94%. And it is not just the LME which has seen stocks rising; Shanghai Futures Exchange zinc stocks rose 31% in the week to Friday March 3 because environmental restrictions have reduced demand from galvanizers. "Exchange stock levels were worryingly low, although people were aware there was lots of zinc sitting off exchange. Now the flow is changing and it's slowly coming back on exchange," a trader said. "But we do not know how long this change will last. There could be more deliveries, I...