According to SMM survey, the average operating rate of zinc oxide enterprises was 61.8% last week, down 0.3 percentage point from the prior week. Raw material inventory increased due to buying on the dip. But raw material inventories at some zinc oxide companies in south China did not increase significantly due to low access to zinc slag.
In terms of orders, end-users restocked inventories in anticipation of price hikes by some zinc oxide plants, growing orders remarkably. Operating rates dropped slightly and are expected to rebound slightly in the near term.
