China zinc use to peak at 7 mn to 7.2 mn T by 2025 -assoc official

SHANGHAI:* China's annual zinc consumption will peak at 7 million to 7.2 million tonnes by the middle of next decade, an official from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) said on Tuesday.

* Peng Tao, secretary general of the CNIA's lead and zinc branch, told the Shanghai Derivatives Market Forum that China's zinc consumption would peak between 2022 and 2025.

* China, the world's biggest consumer of the metal used to galvanise steel, consumed 6.493 million tonnes of refined zinc in 2018, down 1.6% year-on-year, according to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.

* Shanghai zinc prices rose 1.7% to 20,665 yuan  ($2,991.76) a tonne on Tuesday amid falling inventories.