The global zinc market is in short supply

The latest statistics published by the International Lead and Zinc Research Group (IGISC) indicate that the global zinc market was in short supply throughout 2014, with zinc stocks declining by 326,000 tonnes in eleven months.

Miners in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland and Namibia reported declining zinc yields in the past year. However, this drop in production was offset by increased output in other countries, including China, Mexico, Peru, Sweden, and the United States. Overall, zinc output from mines increased 1.9 percent in 2014 over the previous year.

Production of refined zinc metal for eleven months was 12.296 million tonnes, up 4.16 percent from 11.805 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year. The growth in the production of refined zinc was mainly due to the increase in output from China.

Global demand for refined zinc increased 5.4 percent to 12.551 million tonnes during 2014, while use in China increased 10.5 percent. The US reported a 3.9 percent increase in demand. On the other hand, apparent consumption in European countries fell by 1.6 percent.

In the past few months, the global price of galvanized steel has declined very slightly, by about 0.5 percent, due to slow demand from industry consumers caused by the holidays. In India, the country's largest galvanized steel producer, Uttam Galva Steel, said lower raw material prices have also lowered the cost of manufacturing the product.