U.K. LEAD AND ZINC OFFTAKE RISES IN JANUARY
U.K. Consumption of lead and zinc in all
forms during January rose to 26,314 and 18,778 tonnes, from
24,967 and 17,929 tonnes respectively in December, latest
figures by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) show.
    Refined lead consumption rose to 23,992 tonnes from 23,194,
while scrap offtake was 2,322 tonnes against 1,773.
    Slab zinc consumption was 14,257 tonnes against 14,190
during December, while offtake of scrap and re-melted metal was
4,521 tonnes against 3,739.
    Meanwhile production of refined lead in January rose to
28,188 tonnes from 23,693 in December, but slab zinc production
fell to 4,490 tonnes from 5,793, the WBMS figures showed.
    Stocks of slab zinc totalled 14,780 tonnes, down from
December's 15,008.
 Reuter
