ZINC CONCS: TCs widen as power cuts, soaring shipping costs mute spot buying

Treatment charges for zinc concentrates have widened in the first half of August, with the market seeing minimal spot business ahead of what was expected to be large-scale buying from Chinese smelters later in the year.

Fastmarkets' assessment of the zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China, widened downward to $75-90 per tonne on Friday August 13, from $78-90 per tonne two weeks earlier. After years of volatility, terms have traded in a narrow $60-90 per tonne range throughout this year.
Power cuts remained in force this week across several Chinese provinces, while containerized and bulk shipping costs from Latin America to Asia have continued to rise.
China's zinc smelting sector continued to see production capacity limited by power restrictions on heavy industry in the provinces of Yunnan, Henan, Hunan and Guangxi.

Of these areas, Guangxi was the hardest hit,...

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