Metals: Zinc surges to near four-year high on supply fears; copper dips
14/05/2026 10:53
Updates prices
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Zinc prices climbed to their highest in almost four years on Thursday after another incident at a smelter exacerbated supply fears, while copper was poised to end a run of eight straight daily gains.
Benchmark three-month zinc CMZN3 on the London Metal Exchange was up 1.7% at $3,589 per metric ton as of 1602 GMT. The metal used to galvanise steel touched $3,633.50 earlier, the highest since August 2022.
Nexa Resources NEXA.N on Wednesday said operations at its 344,400-ton-per-year Cajamarquilla zinc smelter in Peru, the largest in Latin America, had been temporarily suspended after a fire that damaged smelting infrastructure.
"Between blasts at Kazzinc and a fire at Cajamarquilla you have a growing realisation that zinc is not as well supplied as the market has been anticipating," broker Marex wrote in a note.
Even before these incidents, the International Lead and Zinc Study Group had expected there to be a 19,000 ton deficit in the refined zinc market this year.
Zinc stocks MZN-STOCKS on the LME are at 110,875 tons, equivalent to less than three days of global consumption.
Copper meanwhile fell 0.9% to $13,971 a ton, after hitting $14,196.50 on Wednesday, the highest since January 29 when it notched its all-time peak of $14,527.50.
"Copper is taking a breather after a very strong run, with higher prices starting to weigh on buying interest in China," said ING analyst Ewa Manthey, adding that there were early signs of Chinese exchange inventories CU-STX-SGH rebuilding.
"That said, the bigger‑picture supply risks haven't gone away, so the pullback looks more like consolidation than a change in trend," Manthey said.
Aluminium CMAL3 was flat at $3,651.50, near the four-year high struck on Wednesday, after orders to withdraw another 10,000 tons of metal from storage in Port Klang, while lead CMPB3 added 0.3% to $2,015, nickel CMNI3 shed 1.6% to $18,850 and tin CMSN3 slipped 2.5% to $54,640.
(Reporting by Tom Daly; additional reporting by Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Eileen Soreng, Leroy Leo and Louise Heavens)
((Tom.Daly@thomsonreuters.com;))