METALS – Supply fears drive lead and zinc to multi-year highs

LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Falling stockpiles and pollution alerts in a major industrial province of top metals producer China fuelled supply concerns on Friday and helped to drive lead and zinc prices to multi-year highs and aluminium to a two-week peak. Industrial metals have broadly risen this week after data showed economic growth in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer, accelerated for the first time in seven years. “Based on the fundamentals and the technicals, prices are going to hit some new highs again,” said Robin Bhar, head of metals research at Societe Generale. CHINA POLLUTION: Zhengzhou, capital of key aluminium-smelting province Henan, raised its air pollution alert to red, the highest level, from Friday, bringing tighter curbs on output of industrial products including metals. A similar alert in the lead production hub of Jiyuan, also in Henan, was downgraded to orange on Friday but strict curbs on production will remain until Jan. 21. LEAD: Benchmark lead on the London Metal Exchange touched $2,630.50 a tonne, its highest since August 2011, in early deals. In official LME rings the metal used in batteries did not trade but was bid down 0.2 percent at $2,605. STOCKS: Prices were supported by a 12,225-tonne fall in on-warrant stocks of lead in LME-registered warehouses to 85,000 tonnes, suggesting tighter supply. TOTAL DEMAND: Poor weather in China and the United States is tightening the physical market, said analysts at brokers Marex Spectron. Low temperatures cause car battery failures, leading to higher demand for replacement batteries. SUPPLY: Over 2014-2016 global mined lead supply shrank by roughly 500,000 tonnes, or 10 percent. Consultancy Wood Mackenzie sees a market deficit of 115,000 tonnes this year and 56,000 tonnes in 2019 after a 119,000 shortfall last year. ZINC: LME zinc did not trade in official rings but was bid 1.6 percent higher at $3,431 a tonne after touching $3,444, the highest since 2007. The metal used to galvanise steel was on track for a sixth week of gains. STOCKS: On-warrant LME zinc stocks fell to 98,400 tonnes after 24,175 tonnes of cancellations on Friday. Total stocks at the LME and Shanghai Futures Exchange are about 260,000 tonnes, down from 580,000 at the start of 2017.  SHORTFALL: Rising supplies of zinc over the next couple of years are unlikely to replenish dwindling inventories enough to halt rising prices. ALUMINIUM: LME aluminium traded 0.5 percent up at $2,253 a tonne after hitting $2,270.50, the highest since Jan. 2. It looked set to break technical resistance at its December peak of $2,290.50 to reach a six-year high.