World usage of refined zinc metal to grow by 3.5% in 2016

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): The Standings Committee of International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) in its Spring Meeting held on 27^th April in Lisbon analyzed the current trends and issues faced by the global zinc industry. The meeting also published market forecasts for 2016.

According to ILZSG forecasts, global demand for refined zinc metal will witness a growth of 3.5% to 14.33 million tonnes in 2016. The rising infrastructure investments in China will be the main driver for the global demand growth. The Chinese demand alone is predicted to grow at 4.5% during the year.

The usage in Europe is expected to remain stable after rising by 3.2% during 2015. The Republic of Korea is predicted to witness sharp growth of 13.1%. ILZSG forecasts increase in demand in other countries including India (4.1%), Japan (4.2%) and the United States (3.1%).

The zinc mine production is predicted to fall in ex-China region by 9.4% due to recent mine closures and production cutbacks. The zinc mine output from Australia will reduce by 46%, mainly due to the closure of MMG’s Century Mine in August last year. The cutback in production by Glencore, CBH Resources and Perilya will also contribute to the reduced output. The global zinc mine output is expected to fall by 1.4% to 13.27 million tonnes in 2016. Production is expected to remain lower in Ireland, India, Kazakhstan, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabaia and the US. On the other hand, Chinese output is predicted to grow by 12.4%.

Also, global refined zinc metal production will increase by 0.5% to 13.98 million tonnes in 2016. The Chinese refined zinc metal output is predicted to increase by 4%. However, ILZSG foresees 24% decline in output in the US.

The global demand for refined zinc metal will exceed supply by 352kt during 2016.