The zinc market has slipped gently into deficit after six years of rising inventories
John Robertson
PortfolioDirect
The zinc market has slipped gently into deficit after six years of rising inventories. According to the International Lead Zinc Study Group, consumption outpaced production by 17,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2014. This is not enough to make a meaningful impact on the 2.1 million tonnes of accumulated metal in stockpiles at the end of 2013. When zinc metal prices reached their peak, inventories were only 550,000 tonnes. Since 2000, zinc supplies have been growing at a 3.1% annual rate. A sharp slowing has been expected. Despite Canadian mine closures in 2013 accounting for 315,000 tonnes of production, global mine output in the quarter was 3.0% higher than a year earlier. Teck has already announced it will reopen a mine in anticipation of closures elsewhere making it tougher for the market to rebalance without an unexpected surge in growth.
Never miss an update
Enjoy this wire? Hit the ‘like’ button to let us know.
Stay up to date with my current content by
following me below and you’ll be notified every time I post a wire
John Robertson is Chief Investment Strategist for PortfolioDirect a provider of resource sector investment stock ratings and portfolio strategies for mining and oil and gas investors. He has worked as a policy economist, corporate business strategist and investment market professional for over 30 years after starting his career as a Commonwealth Treasury economist in Canberra. Since being Australia's top-rated commodities analyst and chief economist at one of Australia' leading stockbroking firms, he has advised companies across the mining, consumer products, IT and biotech sectors on their equity market relations. He leads the firm's investment evaluation and security structuring activities on behalf of the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board (ASSOB), the world's first equity 'crowdfunding' investment platform. John Robertson discusses the interaction of mining and investment markets in his weekly 'From the Capital' column in Mining Journal.
1 topic
John Robertson
PortfolioDirect
John Robertson is Chief Investment Strategist for PortfolioDirect a provider of resource sector investment stock ratings and portfolio strategies for mining and oil and gas investors. He has worked as a policy economist, corporate business...
Expertise
No areas of expertise
John Robertson
PortfolioDirect
John Robertson is Chief Investment Strategist for PortfolioDirect a provider of resource sector investment stock ratings and portfolio strategies for mining and oil and gas investors. He has worked as a policy economist, corporate business...
Expertise
No areas of expertise
Comments
Comments
Sign In or Join Free to comment
most popular
Equities
This recently triggered market signal has never failed to predict gains
Ophir Asset Management