Zinc futures weaken on soft demand

Zinc prices fell by 65 paise to Rs 179.20 per kg in futures trade Thursday as speculators cut bets, driven by easing demand in the spot market. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, zinc contracts for September delivery moved down by 65 paise, or 0.36 per cent, to Rs 179.20 per kg in a business turnover of 182 lots.

Similarly, the metal for delivery in October was trading lower by 70 paise, or 0.38 per cent, at Rs 182.25 per kg in 1,881 lots. Analysts said offloading of positions by traders owing to slackened demand from consuming industries in the physical market weighed on zinc prices in futures trade.

However, at the London Metal Exchange, zinc was trading higher by 0.35 per cent to USD 2,290 per tonne.