Following the implementation of India’s demonetisation measure, ‘the silence was palpable in the secondary non-ferrous market during November and December’. Transactions were ‘at an all-time low’ as a significant proportion of market operators have traditionally been cash-driven. On the upside, businesses are now said to be ‘adapting to the new conditions’ and ‘should return to full force sooner rather than later’.
In China, meanwhile, industry is having to adapt to ever-stricter rules which are partly behind the announcement from the country’s biggest zinc smelter that it is to cut production.
In late 2016, China’s environmental authorities reinforced regulations in the south of the country where most of the processing facilities are located, resulting in a mix of temporary and permanent closures.
