2026.01.0817:29:37UTC+00Zinc Pulls Back from 3-Year High

Zinc futures in the UK declined to $3,150 per tonne, down from the three-year high of $3,250 reached on January 6th. This decrease reflects a pause in the rally of base metals, primarily due to profit-taking activities, despite earlier concerns about limited supply. Although mined zinc output saw a 6.3% increase last year, refined zinc production was expected to decrease by 2%. This decline is attributed to production restrictions among smelters in Kazakhstan and Japan, with Japan under pressure from the shutdown of the significant Toho Zinc Annaka plant. In parallel, zinc treatment charges rose to approximately $100 per tonne, contrasting with the negative $115 recorded at the end of the previous year, as reported by private surveys. As a result, zinc stocks at the London Metal Exchange (LME) dropped to 100,000 tonnes, from 230,500 tonnes at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, base metals have gained broad support from anticipation that initiatives in electrification and investments in data centers will sustain industrial input consumption, even as global growth faces challenges.