Zinc inventories in London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses jumped by 11,100 tonnes in Singapore, data published by the exchange showed on Friday, bringing growth over the last two reported days to 64%.

These deliveries, signalling that there are surpluses of the metal used to galvanize steel due to weak demand from the construction sector and low prices, pushed the amount of zinc deposited in the LME-registered warehouses to 74,550 tonnes, the highest level in eight months.

The LME, which publishes stock data with a two-day lag, said on Friday that deliveries of 11,125 tonnes of zinc were made to warehouses in Singapore and 25 tonnes were taken out, bringing total zinc stocks in that location to 62,975 tonnes.

Overall, LME zinc stocks have climbed 378% since early February, boosting confidence on the LME market about the availability of the metal for speedy delivery and creating a discount for the cash contract over the three-month contract.

The discount closed at $13 a tonne on Thursday compared with a premium of about $35 a tonne in early February.

Three-month zinc was up 2% at $2,317 a tonne on Friday after hitting its lowest since July 2020 on Thursday.