Zinc Price History
As of August 14, 2026, the zinc price is $3,736.18 per metric ton, up 3.47% over the past 24 hours. The price is quoted in US dollars per metric ton and updates continuously as London Metal Exchange futures and over-the-counter markets trade.
From the 2006 China-boom peak to the 2022 record near $4,896 per tonne during Europe's energy crisis, zinc's price is driven by galvanizing demand, mine supply, and smelter economics.
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Price Chart
Embed24h Change
24h Range
$3,216.89 to $3,337.89Bid / Ask
$3,736.18All-Time High
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Zinc Price Records
Zinc's major price peaks and the all-time high that still stands. Prices are LME, USD per tonne.
All-Time High
~$4,896
March 2022 (intraday, during Europe's energy crisis; some front-month series list ~$4,603 (Nov 2006) on a settlement basis)
| Date | High (USD/tonne) | What Drove It |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2006 | ~$4,580 | The China-led commodities supercycle, a refined-metal deficit, and record-low LME stocks drove the first historic spike, a record that stood on a settlement basis until 2022. |
| Apr 2011 | ~$2,550 | A post-financial-crisis rebound on global monetary stimulus and recovering Chinese industrial demand, well short of the 2006 record. |
| Jun 2018 | ~$3,600 | A supply-side squeeze as major mines (Century, Lisheen) exhausted and Glencore cut output, tightening the concentrate market to a decade high. |
| Oct 2021 | ~$3,944 | The onset of Europe's energy crunch forced smelters such as Nyrstar to slash output, lifting zinc to its highest since 2007 at the time. |
| Mar 2022Record | ~$4,896 | The full-blown European energy crisis after Russia's invasion of Ukraine shut smelter capacity and nearly depleted LME European stocks, producing the all-time intraday high. |
There is a genuine data dispute: the March 2022 intraday spike near $4,896 is the highest level zinc has ever traded, but some continuous front-month series (such as Trading Economics) list the record as roughly $4,603 in November 2006 on a settlement basis. This is a methodology difference, not a factual disagreement. Prices are nominal USD per tonne.
Data Methodology
Where does this price data come from?
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Zinc Price by Year (1970 to 2025)
LME annual average price per tonne in USD. Click any year for that year's full breakdown.
| Year | Avg Price (USD/tonne) | YoY Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s: Inflation Era & Commodity Booms | ||||
| 1970 Pre-modern-contract era; LME zinc quotation basis | $296 | n/a | ||
| 1971 | $309 | +4.4% | ||
| 1972 | $378 | +22.3% | ||
| 1973 Sharp rise into the 1970s commodity boom | $845 | +123.5% | ||
| 1974 1974 commodity/inflation spike peak | $1,240 | +46.7% | ||
| 1975 Post-boom collapse and recession | $745 | -39.9% | ||
| 1976 | $711 | -4.6% | ||
| 1977 | $590 | -17.0% | ||
| 1978 | $594 | +0.7% | ||
| 1979 | $742 | +24.9% | ||
| 1980s: Recession & Disinflation | ||||
| 1980 | $761 | +2.6% | ||
| 1981 | $846 | +11.2% | ||
| 1982 | $745 | -11.9% | ||
| 1983 | $764 | +2.6% | ||
| 1984 | $922 | +20.7% | ||
| 1985 | $783 | -15.1% | ||
| 1986 | $754 | -3.7% | ||
| 1987 | $799 | +6.0% | ||
| 1988 SHG contract era; strong rally | $1,242 | +55.4% | ||
| 1989 Late-1980s peak | $1,659 | +33.6% | ||
| 1990s: Oversupply & the Asian Crisis | ||||
| 1990 | $1,513 | -8.8% | ||
| 1991 | $1,117 | -26.2% | ||
| 1992 | $1,240 | +11.0% | ||
| 1993 Cycle low amid oversupply | $962 | -22.4% | ||
| 1994 | $998 | +3.7% | ||
| 1995 | $1,031 | +3.3% | ||
| 1996 | $1,025 | -0.6% | ||
| 1997 | $1,316 | +28.4% | ||
| 1998 Asian financial crisis pressure | $1,024 | -22.2% | ||
| 1999 | $1,076 | +5.1% | ||
| 2000s: China Supercycle & the 2008 Crash | ||||
| 2000 | $1,128 | +4.8% | ||
| 2001 | $886 | -21.5% | ||
| 2002 Multi-year cycle low | $779 | -12.1% | ||
| 2003 | $828 | +6.3% | ||
| 2004 | $1,048 | +26.6% | ||
| 2005 | $1,381 | +31.8% | ||
| 2006 China-led supercycle spike; monthly peak ~$4,380 in Nov | $3,275 | +137.1% | ||
| 2007 Sustained high before the crash | $3,242 | -1.0% | ||
| 2008 Global financial crisis crash | $1,875 | -42.2% | ||
| 2009 Recession trough, then recovery | $1,655 | -11.7% | ||
| 2010s: Post-Crisis Range & China Slowdown | ||||
| 2010 | $2,161 | +30.6% | ||
| 2011 | $2,194 | +1.5% | ||
| 2012 | $1,950 | -11.1% | ||
| 2013 | $1,910 | -2.1% | ||
| 2014 | $2,161 | +13.1% | ||
| 2015 Commodity downturn low | $1,932 | -10.6% | ||
| 2016 | $2,090 | +8.2% | ||
| 2017 Supply-deficit rally | $2,891 | +38.3% | ||
| 2018 Cyclical high; mid-year squeeze | $2,922 | +1.1% | ||
| 2019 | $2,550 | -12.7% | ||
| 2020s: COVID, Energy Crisis & Supply Shocks | ||||
| 2020 COVID-19 demand shock | $2,266 | -11.1% | ||
| 2021 Energy-crisis smelter cuts drive prices up | $3,003 | +32.5% | ||
| 2022 Record annual average; European energy crisis / Ukraine war; intraday peak ~$4,900 in Mar | $3,481 | +15.9% | ||
| 2023 | $2,653 | -23.8% | ||
| 2024 | $2,776 | +4.6% | ||
| 2025 Full-year average per IMF/FRED | $2,867 | +3.3% | ||
Zinc Price Through the Decades
For most of the late 20th century, zinc was a cheap, abundant industrial metal whose dominant use is galvanizing steel against corrosion, trading in a broad $800 to $1,500 per tonne range. That changed during the 2000s China-led commodities supercycle: tight mine supply and record-low LME stocks drove zinc from under $1,000 in 2003 to an all-time high near $4,580 per tonne in late 2006. The boom reversed violently in the 2008 financial crisis, with zinc crashing to about $1,100 by early 2009.
Zinc rebounded with post-crisis stimulus to roughly $2,550 in 2011, then drifted into a 2015 to 2016 trough near $1,450 amid fears over slowing Chinese growth. A supply-side squeeze followed: the exhaustion of giant mines such as Century in Australia and Lisheen in Ireland, plus Glencore's voluntary output cuts, lifted prices to a decade high around $3,600 by 2018. After a brief pandemic dip, Europe's energy crisis became zinc's defining modern episode, as surging power prices forced smelters to slash output, pushing prices to about $3,944 in October 2021 and then to a record intraday peak near $4,896 per tonne in March 2022, when LME European warehouse stocks dwindled to just a few hundred tonnes.
Since the 2022 peak, zinc has fallen back as the energy shock faded, dipping into the $2,000s in 2024 before recovering through 2025 on a deepening mine-supply deficit and a collapse in smelter treatment charges. By mid-2026 it was trading around $3,500 per tonne, with near-depleted LME inventories keeping the physical market tight even as analysts forecast a refined-metal surplus as new mines ramp up. See the live chart above for the current price.
Data provided by MetalCharts, a free precious metals tracking platform offering real-time prices, interactive charts, historical data, and portfolio tools for gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and copper. Prices sourced from major global exchanges including COMEX, LBMA, and LME, updated continuously during market hours.
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