The three-month zinc price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Friday January 17, with price action settling comfortably above the $2,400-per-tonne support level despite moderately low turnover across the complex, while a steady incline in LME tin saw prices breach nearby resistance.
Zinc's outright price on the LME settled at $2,429.50 per tonne on Friday afternoon, a climb of more than 1.5%, while daily trading volumes were among the lowest over January at some 6,482 lots exchanged by the close. The galvanizing metal's underlying price closed the week at a rise of more than 3%, notching modest gains from a weekly low of $2,344.50 per tonne. Despite this, zinc's benchmark cash/three-month spread remains in a backwardation, recently seen at $19.75 per tonne. Total zinc stocks remain low at 51,450 tonnes, but with some 43,700 tonnes on-warrant, availability of free-floating LME zinc warrants is relatively high. Elsewhere in the complex,...