BEIJING, Mar 06 (Reuters): Shanghai zinc prices fell to their lowest since December on Tuesday, tracking a decline on the London Metal Exchange (LME) after LME warehouse inventories rose and on-warrant zinc stocks - those not earmarked for delivery - nearly doubled.
The metal, used to galvanise steel, is also coming under pressure after President Donald Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on steel imports.
A number of countries, including China and Canada, have criticised the move, sparking talk of a trade war. Trump also vowed to impose a 10 per cent duty on aluminium imports.
"Trade war fears continue to overhang the markets ... causing headwinds for LME metals," broker Sucden Financial said in a note on Tuesday.
SHFE ZINC: The most traded April zinc contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 2.2 per cent at 25,410 yuan ($4,007.51) a tonne by the mid-session interval, on course for its biggest daily drop since Dec. 6. It earlier touched 25,210 yuan a tonne, its lowest since Dec. 15.
LME ZINC: Zinc in London was up 0.2 per cent at $3,304 a tonne at 0400 GMT, after hitting a 2018-low in the previous session. Stocks of zinc in LME warehouses jumped by 59 per cent on Monday to 209,050 tonnes, while on-warrant levels nearly doubled to 162,825 tonnes.
LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3 per cent at $6,933.50 on a weaker dollar, extending a 0.2 per cent gain from the previous session.
