Business Standard

HZL ups zinc prices by 9%

Image

Dilip Kumar Jha Mumbai
Hindustan Zinc (HZL), the country's largest zinc producer, raised zinc selling prices by 9 per cent (Rs 8,500 per tonne) across all categories effective December 16, making this the second revision in the last two months.
 
Just last month, the company had raised its prices by more than 5 per cent effective December 1. With the current revision special high grade zinc (ex-Debarihanderia) is sold at Rs 106,000 per tonne as against Rs 97,500 per tonne earlier.
 
Prices in depots were around Rs 2,000 higher than ex-Debarihanderia price, depending upon location of the point of delivery. The selling price of high grade zinc was raised to Rs 105,800 per tonne (Rs 97,300 per tonne earlier) while prime western zinc costs Rs 1,04,000 per tonne (Rs 95,500 earlier).
 
Prices of lead "� a byproduct of zinc production "� too were raised by about 10 per cent to Rs 62,000 per tonne from Rs 56,400 per tonne from last revision. Cadmium, another by-product, is now sold at Rs 257 per kg as compared with Rs 233 in the last revision.
 
Zinc producers in the country review selling prices every fortnight depending, depending upon price movement on the London Metal Exchange (LME). The upward price revision, though timely, looks overpriced as metal prices on the LME have started stabilising.
 
The price recession has already started, which traders expect, will continue at least till the end of the year as international traders are yet to finalise their books of accounts for the current year and plan for the next.
 
Meanwhile, fund liquidation pressured zinc on LME to a near-two week low on Thursday but strong fundamentals lifted prices back up near the PM kerb "� the second session of trading "� traders said.
 
LME three-month zinc fell to $1,754 a metric ton, down 3.2 per cent on the previous PM kerb. The global zinc supplier Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co lowered its zinc selling price by Y16,000 to Y252,000 a metric tonne. This will bring its estimated average zinc selling price for December to Y257,700.
 
The global zinc deficit projection continued in the latest bulleting of International Lead and Zinc Study Group with a total supply shortfall of 330,000 tonnes out of the total refined zinc production of 8.476 (8.437) million metric in January to October.
 
Refined zinc consumption during the period under consideration rose to 8.809 million tonne, up from 8.766 million tonne a year earlier.
 
Zinc consumption in October stood at 926,600 tonne, up 22,200 tonne on the month, while production rose to 866,100 tonne, a rise of 26,200 tonne in October.

 

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Dec 17 2005 | 12:00 AM IST

Explore News