Japan: Zinc prices hit 16-year high after Mitsui Mining announces price hike

Electric zinc prices in Japan have reached a record high for the first time in 16 years since 2006 after Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co Ltd announced a hike of JPY 78,000/tonne ($641/t) to JPY 586,000/t ($4813/t) in its prices.

Prices have hit a new record which is higher by JPY 5,000/t compared to the previous record high prices. The average price in March was JPY 524,000/t.

Electric zinc prices started at JPY 469,000/t at the beginning of the year and exceeded the milestone of JPY 500,000/t for the first time in 15 years in early-March. Since then, it has maintained the JPY 500,000 level and continued to move up, hitting new records.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc market, which is an indicator, has been in the high range since last year. Zinc prices rose further as concerns about supply of zinc bullion increased further against the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict followed by sanctions against Russia.

The LME spot price on 25 March stood at $4,073/t, down $67/t d-o-d. Recently, the movements to strengthen sanctions against Russia have negatively affected the zinc market.

In addition, the depreciation of the Japanese yen against US dollar has also contributed to higher prices. The current exchange rate of Japanese yen is at JPY 123 against the US dollar. Since the beginning of the year, the Japanese yen has been depreciating by about JPY 7.