Zinc price touches a near 14-year high as Nyrstar slashes output

Zinc price touched a near 14-year high in Shanghai while in London it jumped the strongest in over three-and-a-half years after Nyrstar said it will cut production by up to 50% at its three European zinc smelters due to the soaring price of electricity.

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“The cost burden of carbon emitted by the electricity sector which is passed on to industrial and domestic customers, mean it is no longer economically feasible to operate the plants at full capacity,” Nyrstar said.

“Indirect cost compensation for energy-intensive producers to protect their competitiveness versus non-EU producers varies by European country and this puts Nyrstar’s Budel, Balen and Auby plants at a competitive disadvantage, compounding the impact of extreme energy prices.”