(Updates with closing prices)By Peter HobsonLONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Zinc prices fell more than 3percent on Tuesday as a big inflow into London Metal Exchange(LME) warehouses fanned expectations that a supply deficit willsoon end.
Benchmark zinc on the LME closed down 3.1 percent at$2,809.50 a tonne, the biggest daily fall since August, afterhitting a three-week low.
The metal used chiefly to galvanise steel has risen around14 percent this year thanks to a supply shortfall that drove LMEinventories to record lows. Prices reached a 9-1/2-month high of $2,958 a tonne on April4.However, analysts expect a recent rise in mined zincproduction to feed through to the refined metal market from thesecond quarter of this year.
This increase in supply will drag prices to around $2,300 bythe year-end, Capital Economics analyst Ross Strachan said. Hesaid zinc would perform worse than other industrial metals.
ZINC STOCKS: Headline zinc stocks in LME-registeredwarehouses jumped by 10,350 tonnes to 66,475 tonnes, rising froma record low of around 50,000 tonnes earlier this month. Stocks in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai FuturesExchange rose sharply during a seasonal lull in Chinesemanufacturing in the first quarter, but have slipped in recentweeks to 101,000 tonnes. ZINC SPREAD: The premium of cash zinc over the three-monthcontract on the LME fell to $89 from more than $100 on Friday,but remains far above usual levels, pointing to a shortage ofimmediately available metal. COLUMN: Zinc is coming under sustained attack from bearishfunds, writes columnist Andy Home. CHINA ECONOMY: Positive economic data in China, the largestconsumer of metals, has supported the demand outlook.
China's fiscal spending increased 15 percent duringJanuary-March from levels a year earlier and local governmentsquickened bond issuance for key projects, the finance ministrysaid. Data shows new home prices in China grew slightly faster inMarch and new bank loans rebounded last month far more thanexpected.CHINA OUTLOOK: But the OECD said China's stimulus mayundermine the country's drive to control debt and worsenstructural distortions over the medium term. U.S. FACTORIES: U.S. manufacturing output suffered thelargest quarterly decrease in production since 2017. STEEL: Growth in global steel demand will weaken to 1.3percent in 2019 and 1 percent next year, the World SteelAssociation said. Zinc and nickel are used in steelmaking. OTHER METALS: LME copper ended up 0.2 percent at$6,495 a tonne, aluminium fell 0.5 percent to $1,856,lead slipped 1.7 percent to $1,920 and tin finished down 0.4 percent at $20,500.Nickel did not trade in closing rings, nor werethere any bids or offers. In electronic trading, prices weredown 0.3 percent at $12,955 a tonne at 1614 GMT.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen;Editing by Dale Hudson and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)