Zinc futures fell to around $3,200 in mid-March, marking its lowest level since January 21, as rising inventories at the Shanghai Futures Exchange and in LME warehouses, along with a strong US dollar, weighed on market sentiment. SFE stocks rose 9.2% in a week, while over 21,000 tonnes delivered into Singapore pushed LME inventories to their highest level since July.  Adding downward pressure on zinc prices was the US dollar remaining strong amid safe-haven demand linked to escalating Middle East tensions. However, losses were still limited due to ongoing concerns about tight supply and historically low inventories in certain regions. Zinc also received support from China’s industrial recovery, with output rising 6.3% yoy in the first two months of 2026 and fixed-asset investment showing modest improvement. Meanwhile, Boliden’s Tara mine in Ireland has reopened after a 2023 shutdown, while Ivanhoe Mines’ Kipushi project in the Democratic Republic of Congo is ramping up production.

Zinc rose to 3,073.40 USD/T on March 20, 2026, up 0.07% from the previous day. Over the past month, Zinc's price has fallen 8.21%, but it is still 4.89% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Historically, Zinc reached an all time high of 4603 in November of 2006. Zinc - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on March 22 of 2026.

Zinc rose to 3,073.40 USD/T on March 20, 2026, up 0.07% from the previous day. Over the past month, Zinc's price has fallen 8.21%, but it is still 4.89% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Zinc is expected to trade at 3078.66 USD/MT by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 3267.02 in 12 months time.



Price Day Month Year Date
Coal 146.50 1.30 0.90% 25.75% 51.03% Mar/20
Bitumen 4,558.00 11.00 0.24% 35.74% 28.68% Mar/20
Cobalt 56,290.00 0 0% 0% 55.63% Mar/19
Lead 1,900.63 1.30 0.07% -2.76% -6.38% Mar/20
Aluminum 3,194.95 -47.05 -1.45% 3.30% 21.66% Mar/20
Tin 43,540.00 -1523 -3.38% -6.48% 23.17% Mar/19
Zinc 3,073.40 2.15 0.07% -8.21% 4.89% Mar/20
Nickel 16,885.00 -180 -1.05% -2.31% 4.16% Mar/20
Molybdenum 535.00 0 0% 3.88% 19.15% Mar/20
Palladium 1,445.50 -10.00 -0.69% -18.66% 52.56% Mar/20
Gallium 2,025.00 50.00 2.53% 12.19% 8.00% Mar/20
Germanium 15,750.00 0 0% 8.62% 5.35% Mar/20
Manganese 34.45 0.50 1.47% 9.19% 13.88% Mar/20
Indium 4,750.00 0 0% 6.74% 62.39% Mar/20
Soda Ash 1,212.00 0 0% 2.54% -18.33% Mar/20
Neodymium 990,000.00 0 0% -13.54% 76.16% Mar/20
Tellurium 775.00 0 0% 1.97% 6.90% Mar/20
Rhodium 11,150.00 -250 -2.19% -3.88% 93.91% Mar/20


Zinc
Zinc Futures are available for trading in The London Metal Exchange (LME). The standard contract size it 25 tonnes. Zinc is often used in die-casting alloys, castings, brass products, sheeting products, chemicals, medicine, paints and batteries. The biggest producers of zinc are. China, Peru, Australia, United States, Canada, India and Kazakhstan. Zinc prices displayed in Trading Economics are based on over-the-counter (OTC) and contract for difference (CFD) financial instruments. Our market prices are intended to provide you with a reference only, rather than as a basis for making trading decisions. Trading Economics does not verify any data and disclaims any obligation to do so.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
3073.40 3071.25 4603.00 176.37 1960 - 2026 USD/MT Daily

News Stream
Zinc Futures Hit Near 2-Month Low
Zinc futures fell to around $3,200 in mid-March, marking its lowest level since January 21, as rising inventories at the Shanghai Futures Exchange and in LME warehouses, along with a strong US dollar, weighed on market sentiment. SFE stocks rose 9.2% in a week, while over 21,000 tonnes delivered into Singapore pushed LME inventories to their highest level since July.  Adding downward pressure on zinc prices was the US dollar remaining strong amid safe-haven demand linked to escalating Middle East tensions. However, losses were still limited due to ongoing concerns about tight supply and historically low inventories in certain regions. Zinc also received support from China’s industrial recovery, with output rising 6.3% yoy in the first two months of 2026 and fixed-asset investment showing modest improvement. Meanwhile, Boliden’s Tara mine in Ireland has reopened after a 2023 shutdown, while Ivanhoe Mines’ Kipushi project in the Democratic Republic of Congo is ramping up production.
2026-03-18
Zinc Hits 7-week Low
Zinc decreased to 3222.00 USD/T, the lowest since January 2026. Over the past 4 weeks, Zinc lost 4.46%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 9.03%.
2026-03-17
Zinc Holds Near 3-Year High
Zinc futures in the UK rose to $3,330 per tonne in March, remaining near the three-year high of $3,430 from January 29th as higher operating costs for refiners magnified the impact of tight supply. Iran's effort to block energy exports from the Persian Gulf drove power prices to surge across major economies, raising the cost of power-hungry refiners in their electrolytic process. Refined zinc output barring China fell 1.6% despite the 5.4% jump in global mined output, consistent with output curbs among smelters in Kazakhstan and Japan. Likewise, treatment charges for zinc rose toward $105 thousand tonnes, compared to 230.5 thousand tonnes at the start of last year, after their near depletion of on-and off-warrant stocks at the start of the fourth quarter. Base metals also received broad support from expectations that electrification push and datacenter investments would maintain consumption of industrial inputs despite headwinds to global growth.
2026-03-09