[SHFE/LME zinc price ratio fluctuated around 6.9]: This week, the SHFE/LME zinc price ratio fluctuated around 6.9, and the zinc ingot import window remained persistently closed. Outside China, on the macro front, repeated geopolitical news caused fluctuations in US Treasury yields and the US dollar index, affecting the market. Tariff policy expectations stirred again, combined with persistently low zinc inventories outside China, and LME zinc continued to fluctuate at highs.

As of May 26, the Shanghai-LME zinc price ratio stood at 6.97, continuing its downward trend from 7.4 recorded in late March, which has led to a widening import loss of refined zinc ingots in China. According to calculations by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), the current import loss of China’s refined zinc ingots has expanded to approximately RMB 3,800 per metric ton of metal.

During the May Day holiday in 2026, LME zinc traded in a general sideways range, finding solid support at the 40-day moving average. In terms of specific performance, LME zinc showed an N-shaped trend of rising first, then falling and rebounding again.

[Non-Farm Payrolls Data Exceed Expectations, SHFE and LME Zinc Prices Pull Back] At the beginning of the week, the gradual digestion of macro sentiment led to a decline in LME zinc; however, continued destocking of overseas LME zinc inventory provided bottom support for prices. Subsequently, as the market continued to await the delayed release of non-farm payrolls and CPI data, trading activity became more cautious, and LME zinc maintained a fluctuating trend.