- LME zinc stocks continue to rise sharply, up 55% w-o-w
- HZL achieves over 100,000 GJ of energy savings in FY’25
The London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc market traded in a narrow, slightly softer range over 15-19 December 2025, as profit‑taking and higher exchange stocks offset the otherwise supportive backdrop of tight ex-China inventories and mine‑side constraints. Overall sentiment remained cautiously constructive, but with a clear consolidation bias after the strong early-December rally.
Price trends
LME zinc cash prices eased from $3,127/t on 15 December to $3,036/t on 18 December, before recovering to $3,040/t on 19 December, a net fall of $87/t or about 2.8% w‑o‑w. Over the same period, the LME zinc 3-month price slipped from $3,122/t on 15 December to $3,071/t on 19 December, a decline of 1.6% w-o-w. Compared with the mid-December intramonth high near $3,220/t around 11-12 December, zinc is down about 5%, yet remains modestly above mid‑November and slightly above year-ago levels, indicating that the broader up‑trend from November is still intact.
Intraweek moves were driven mainly by profit‑taking after earlier gains, a somewhat stronger US dollar, and fading enthusiasm around the Fed’s December rate cut, which together capped fresh upside despite structurally tight inventories outside China.
Inventory analysis
LME zinc stocks continued to rise sharply, confirming that the extreme tightness seen in October-early November has partially eased. Inventories jumped from 64,475 t on 15 December to 99,900 t on 19 December, a hefty w-o-w increase of 35,425 t or about 55%, signalling a strong inflow of metal into LME warehouses. Even so, absolute tonnages around 100,000 t remain low relative to historical norms and still cover well under two days of global refined consumption, so the market continues to view the stock position as tight rather than comfortable.
In contrast, Chinese zinc stocks on SHFE and in social warehouses have been trending lower into mid‑December, with reported declines of roughly 20,000 t from late November and SHFE warehouse levels falling from near 110,000 t in mid-October to around the low-80,000-t area, helping to offset some of the price-dampening impact of the rapid LME stock build
MCX zinc trends (15-19 December)
On India’s MCX, zinc futures softened in line with the consolidation seen on LME. The active 31 December 2025 contract closed at INR 308,700/t on 15 December and INR 301,400/t on 19 December, a decline of 2.4% w-o-w. The move reflected long liquidation and profit‑taking after earlier gains, even as overall sentiment stayed mildly constructive on a one‑month view, supported by tight global availability, a still‑firm LME cash-to-3-month structure and steady domestic demand from galvanising and alloy‑using sectors.
SHFE zinc trend
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), the main January 2026 zinc contract stayed comparatively firm, trading in a tight CNY 22,900-23,100/t band with only marginal daily changes of about 0.3%. The SHFE-LME price ratio around 7.53 and a drop in SHFE warehouse stocks from roughly 91,900 t to 80,600 t (about 12% w-o-w) kept onshore supply tight and Chinese export flows economically attractive into a still‑constrained overseas market.
Hindustan Zinc reports 100,000 GJ energy savings in FY25
Hindustan Zinc Ltd. achieved over 100,000 GJ of energy savings in FY25, cutting more than 20,000 t CO₂e in emissions through efficiency and decarbonisation efforts across its Rajasthan operations. The conserved energy equals the annual electricity use of about 19,000 Indian households. The company is also expanding its renewable power capacity toward a goal of 70% renewable energy by FY28.
Outlook
Zinc across LME, MCX and SHFE is likely to consolidate or stay higher, with low ex-China inventories and concentrate constraints supporting a possible downside, while LME rebuilding, Chinese draws and macro data will shaping dynamics.
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