Although Shanghai zinc stocks have been gradually falling,...

Although Shanghai zinc stocks have been gradually falling, stocks on the LME have been gradually rising. It's as though Chinese zinc demand has disappeared altogether.

There was this very telling article about...

China Yuguang shuts 100,000 T zinc smelter - company sources

Pretty much they sum it up as...

Demand for zinc in China, the world's top consumer and producer of the metal, has been weak so far this year, while Beijing continues a clampdown on the domestic property market, a leading user of zinc-galvanized steel in the country.

This is in stark contrast to domestic steel production in China last month...

Source:

Chinese crude steel production increased by 10% month-on-month to a record 61.58 million metric tons (Mt) in March and up by 3.9% year-on-year, as per latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

If I were the Chinese I'd be looking to run down local stockpiles to force the LME zinc price lower, but the zinc price has yet to fall below 90c, much to the frustration of Chinese purchasing managers. I bet they are waiting for a repeat of a Euro summer when prices hit 70-80c in Sep/Oct before restocking, but I see this as less likely given Spain & Italy are two very different nationalities and economies to that of Greece.

Bear or Bull alike - what's your view?