Zinc surges as Glencore slashes output

London

THE price of zinc rebounded sharply this week after troubled Swiss mining giant Glencore slashed its output by a third, in a "significant" tightening of supplies, traders said.

The industrial metal rallied to a two-month pinnacle at US$1,875 per tonne in Friday morning deals, up 12 per cent from the closing level the previous day.

"Metal prices are surging . . . with zinc leading the way," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.

Glencore, plagued by vast debts and crashing commodity prices, announced on Friday that it was lowering zinc output by 500,000 tonnes acros…