【SMM Flash】Today in Guangdong, the purchasing sentiment of refined zinc stands at 1.85, while selling sentiment registers 2.42.With upward shift in futures price center, downstream buyers show obvious reluctance to chase higher prices. Affected by pricing, market demand turns softer with muted trading activity, and spot premiums/discounts linger at low levels.

[Shanghai Zinc: SHFE Zinc Futures Prices Fluctuate at Highs, Market Transactions Sluggish] Today, the mainstream transaction prices of #0 zinc were concentrated in the range of 24,880-25,005 yuan/mt, Shuangyan mainstream transactions were at 24,990-25,105 yuan/mt, and #1 zinc mainstream transactions were at 24,810-24,935 yuan/mt. In the morning session, the market offered premiums of 20-40 yuan/mt against the SMM average price for cargoes with invoices dated next month, with no quotes against the futures price yet...

[Guangdong: High Prices Suppress Market Demand, Downstream Demand Performance Is Relatively Weak] Guangdong mainstream 0# zinc was transacted at 24,785-24,855 yuan/mt, with mainstream brands quoting discounts of 120-75 yuan/mt against contract 2609 and a discount of 70 yuan/mt against Shanghai spot, and the Shanghai-Guangdong price spread remained...

[Tianjin Zinc: Futures Surge, Market Sluggish] In the Tianjin market, #0 zinc ingot was mainly traded at 24,740-24,910 yuan/mt, Zijin was traded at 24,860-24,970 yuan/mt, #1 zinc ingot was traded around 24,740-24,860 yuan/mt, Zijin was quoted at around parity against the 2600 contract, Huludao Zinc was quoted at 26,215 yuan/mt, #0 zinc ingot was quoted at a discount of 60-120 yuan/mt against the 2609 contract, and the Tianjin market was at a discount of around 100 yuan/mt against the Shanghai market.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: US dollar index edges down, LME zinc center rises] Overnight, LME zinc opened at $3,582.5/mt. In early trading, LME zinc moved sideways near the daily average line, then edged down slowly. During the European trading session, it dipped to $3,571.5/mt. Prices at the night session shot up to touch $3,625.5/mt. It edged down slightly in late trading, and finally closed up at $3,609.5/mt, an increase of $36.5/mt or 1.02%. Trading volume increased to 9,333 lots, and open interest decreased by 3,194 lots to 244,000 lots.

As of July 28, LME zinc inventories (including off-warrant stocks) had fallen to 119,600 mt, down by approximately 45,000 mt from mid-June. As overseas inventories continued to decline, the LME zinc market structure shifted from contango to backwardation, with the backwardation widening further. By July 28, the LME zinc cash-to-3M spread had strengthened to US$61.09/mt.