Global Jan-Oct zinc use up 4%

Recently released data from Lisbon-based International Lead and Zinc Study Group have highlighted the growth in usage and supply of zinc in calendar 2006.

According to the global industry body, total global zinc consumption grew 3.7 per cent y-o-y to 9.11 tonne from January to October last year. Of this, Asian consumption increased 2.3 per cent to 4.7 million tonne. The data for Asian countries included India, China and Korea.

Global production of zinc, on the other hand, rose 3.8 per cent y-o-y to 8.79 million tonne in the January-October 2006 period. Asian production surged 9.1 per cent y-o-y to 4.54 million tonne during the period, the data showed.

Growth in demand for zinc in the Asian region was largely driven by China, as it ramped up its production of galvanised steel. Zinc is one of the key inputs used in the manufacture of galvanised steel.

The Chinese galvanised steel industry, whose capacity was approximately 2-2.5 million tonne in calendar 2002, has grown to about 9 million tonne, say analysts.

Demand for zinc has also been fuelled by strong growth in user industries, of which one is the battery industry in India. The user industries' demand has jacked up zinc prices by 113 per cent over the past one year. On the London Metal Exchange, zinc is currently trading at around $4,115 a tonne.

Analysts at domestic brokerages said the global deficit of refined zinc supplies was expected to reach 4,60,000 tonne by the end of 2006 compared with 3,39,000 tonne at the end of calendar 2005.

This, they said, was largely because of huge Chinese imports of this non-ferrous metal.