Japan Official Zinc Price Increases by 19,000 yen/t

Mitsui Mining & Smelting announced on Thursday the firm increased the official zinc ingot price by 19,000 yen to 373,000 yen per tonne for April shipment. The price hit record under surging offshore price. The official price increased to averaged 370,200 yen for the month. The indicative cash zinc price increased by US$ 110 to US$ 2,820 per tonne at settlement of London Metal Exchange on Wednesday from previous day. The price exceeded the record high on Monday. The LME price increased by 40% from US$ 2,015 per tonne on February 16 due to strong purchase by speculators under very tight supply in the spot market. The Japanese official price increased by 34% in around 7 weeks from the recent bottom of 279,000 yen per tonne on February 20.