SMM Oct. 24:
The operating rate of zinc oxide recorded 56.36% this week, down 0.78 percentage points MoM. Inventory side, zinc prices rose during the week, while some raw material prices remained relatively high, leading to a decline in enterprise raw material inventories. Finished product inventories side, enterprises basically maintained a production-sales balance during the week, with relatively small changes in finished product inventories. End-user orders side, in the rubber-grade zinc oxide segment, orders from large tyre factories remained relatively stable, but demand from some small and medium-sized enterprises was relatively weak. In the ceramic-grade zinc oxide market, demand for coarse ceramics remained relatively average, while some enterprises recently reported that demand in the high-end ceramic-grade zinc oxide segment also weakened. Additionally, demand for feed-grade zinc oxide and electronic-grade zinc oxide remained relatively normal. The decline in zinc oxide operating rates was mainly due to some enterprises being affected by recent meetings, resulting in a decrease in production, but it is expected to fully resume normal production next week. Coupled with production resumptions at some enterprises that had taken holidays during the National Day period, the zinc oxide operating rate is expected to rise to around 58.33% next week.
