[Zinc Prices Broke Lower and Moved Downward, with Good Trading This Week]: Spot premiums in Tianjin rose slightly this week, up 10 yuan/mt WoW. As of this Friday, in China, standard brands were quoted at discounts of around 20-70 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract, while high-priced brands were quoted at discounts of around 10 yuan/mt to premiums of around 10 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract. Tianjin was quoted at a discount of around 10 yuan/mt against Shanghai.

[Futures Zinc Prices Fell Sharply, While Spot Premiums Strengthened During the Week]: Shanghai spot premiums strengthened this week, with the weekly average price up 20 yuan/mt WoW. As of this Friday, ordinary domestic brands were quoted at discounts of 30 yuan/mt to 20 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract, while the high-priced brand Shuangyan was quoted at a premium of 50 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract.

[US Fed Held Rates Unchanged, SHFE and LME Centers Continued to Move Lower This Week] At the beginning of the week, the market was heavily affected by geopolitical disruptions, with strong wait-and-see sentiment, and LME zinc maintained a fluctuating trend; subsequently, from a fundamental perspective, inventories outside China accumulated sharply, compounded by the escalation of the Middle East conflict, and market expectations for US Fed interest rate cuts cooled significantly, putting LME zinc under pressure and driving it lower......

[Environmental Protection Measures in Northern China Weighed, Overall Trading Was Average This Week]: Spot premiums in Tianjin were flat WoW this week. As of this Friday, in China, standard domestic brands were quoted at discounts of around 50-100 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract, high-priced brands at discounts of around 30-60 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract, and Tianjin was quoted at a premium of around 10 yuan/mt against Shanghai.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Macro Uncertainty Still Persists, LME Zinc Maintains Wide Swings] Overnight, LME zinc opened at $3,336.5/mt. In early trading, LME zinc fluctuated upward and touched an intraday high of $3,386/mt. Prices then pulled back to a low of $3,323.5/mt, before edging up slightly near the close to finish at $3,342/mt, up $16/mt, or 0.48%. Trading volume decreased to 98,167 lots, and open interest fell by 254 lots to 216,000 lots.

[Downstream Operations Were Still Resuming, and Market Trading Was Better Than Last Week]: Spot premiums in Tianjin rose slightly this week, up 20 yuan/mt WoW. As of this Friday, mainstream domestic brands were quoted at discounts of around 20-100 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract, while high-priced brands were quoted at discounts of around 20-50 yuan/mt against the 2604 contract. Tianjin was quoted at a discount of around 10 yuan/mt against Shanghai, the Shanghai-Tianjin price spread narrowed, and contract rollover quotes were offered this week.

As of February 12, 2026, LME zinc ingot inventory continued to decline to 103,500 mt, while the LME Cash-3M contango narrowed from over $40/mt in January to below $20/mt. At the same time, due to the Chinese New Year holiday, many downstream zinc enterprises suspended operations, leading to a continued buildup in domestic zinc ingot inventory to over 160,000 mt.

[Chinese New Year Holiday Approaches, Zinc Concentrate Market Sluggish] On a weekly basis, the SMM Zn50 domestic weekly TC average price remained flat MoM at 1,500 yuan/mt in metal content, while the SMM imported zinc concentrate index decreased by $0.53/dmt MoM to $24.35/dmt.

[This Week's Zinc Futures Weakened as Traders Raised Spot Quotes]: This week, spot premiums in Shanghai rebounded, with the weekly average price up 5 yuan/mt WoW. As of Friday, spot domestic brand zinc was at a premium of 20 yuan/mt against the 2603 contract, while the high-priced brand Shuangyan was at a premium of 100 yuan/mt against the 2603 contract.

[SMM Morning Meeting Summary: US Dollar Index Strengthens, LME Zinc Records a Bearish Candlestick] Last Friday, the LME zinc contract opened at $3,420/mt. In early trading, it fluctuated considerably around the daily average line, reaching a high of $3,423.50/mt. During European trading hours, it fell below the daily average line but subsequently recovered the losses and returned above it. Toward the end of the session, LME zinc fluctuated downward, touching a low of $3,336.50/mt, and finally closed down at $3,370/mt, a decrease of $83/mt, or 2.40%. Trading volume increased to 142,000 lots, and open interest rose by 5,365 lots to 239,000 lots.