Zinc and lead companies underwater

Zinc Investing News reports due to the slow global economic outlook, zinc prices have declined further.

Right now, zinc is priced at around $0.54 a pound on the LME; at this value about half the world’s zinc is being produced at a loss, and up to a half million tonnes of capacity elsewhere is under threat of closure. Just last January, zinc was priced at around $1.20 per pound. Goldman Sachs forecasts zinc to average only $0.63 a pound next year, citing a supply overhang in world markets. Lead is now trading at $1,170 per tonne down from its later winter peak of $3,400 per tonne. Since the beginning of October, lead and zinc prices have tumbled by more than 30 per cent causing almost all zinc miners and smelters to rack up losses while lead smelters are earning just fractional profits.

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