Zinc Will Rise to Average $2,800 a Ton in 2014, Antaike Says
Zinc may climb to average $2,800 a metric ton in 2014 as a shortage develops, Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. and Raw Materials Group said.
Demand will exceed supply by 100,000 tons in 2013 and 150,000 tons in 2014, led by usage in China, the world’s largest buyer of the metal, the companies said in a report today before a conference in Stockholm. Prices of zinc, used to galvanize steel, have averaged $2,327 a ton so far this year.
“The rapid development of China’s industrialization and urbanization will support zinc consumption in the next five years,” the companies said in the report.
Zinc prices have dropped 15 percent this year as supply expanded. The surplus will be 250,000 tons this year and 300,000 tons next year, according to the report. Antaike, based in Beijing, is sponsoring the conference today with Stockholm-based Raw Materials Group.
Zinc for three-month delivery fell 0.2 percent to $2,095 a metric ton at 4:30 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange yesterday.
China accounted for about 40 percent of zinc demand last year, according to RBS Global Banking & Markets. Zinc demand in the country may climb to 6.58 million tons in 2015 from 4.75 million last year, according to the Antaike and RMG study.
To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka Troszkiewicz in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
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