Zinc Price May Jump More Than 50% in Five Years, Macquarie Says...

Zinc Price May Jump More Than 50% in Five Years, Macquarie Says

By Feiwen Rong
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601012&sid=aCPNe.ePEIws&refer=commodities

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Refined zinc prices may climb by more than 50 percent in the next five years as growth in mine supply slows and leads to a global shortage of the metal used to galvanize steel, Macquarie Group Ltd. said.

London Metal Exchange zinc for immediate delivery may average $1.50 a pound ($3,307 a metric ton) in 2013, according to a report today by the bank's London-based analysts led by Jim Lennon. That's 25 percent more than previously forecast, and compares with the May 2 settlement price of $2,193.50 a ton.

Rapid supply growth in the near term notwithstanding, ``lower zinc prices and difficulty in securing financing are likely to limit zinc mine production growth in the longer-term, from 2010 onwards,'' Macquarie said. There could be a shortage of refined zinc by 2011 ``which could become extremely large by 2012,'' it said.

Don't mine or Macquaries word....

http://www.metalin.com/zincsilvercopper.html

The Zinc gap is about to commence and prices will increase as supply drops and demand increases.