SHANGHAI, March 18 -- China is poised to begin trading zinc at Shanghai Futures Exchange in the near future as a test run on the new futures product will be held from the coming Monday to Friday, sources with the exchange said on Sunday.

 

Earlier report said ushing-in of zinc to China's futures market has been given green light by related authorities under the State Council, China's cabinet.

 

The new move will provide Chinese zinc enterprises with a hedging instrument and mitigate their heavy reliance on international markets.

 

China is the world's largest zinc producer and consumer, but has for long been denied a say in pricing process for the metal. Now, only London Metal Exchange has a zinc futures market in the world. Last year zinc futures price surged more than 120 percent on international markets.

 

According to Shanghai Futures Exchange, the minimum delivery unit was set at 25 tons for the coming zinc futures, whose price will be allowed to rise or fall within a daily limit of four percent of the closing price for the previous trading day.

 

The exchange has required its members and software developers for remote trading systems to complete preparations for official start of zinc trading before the next Friday.

 

China accounts for one fifth of world's total zinc ore production. Statistics from the China Association of Nonferrous Metal Industry showed that in the first three quarters of 2006, China consumed 2.48 million tons of zinc, a growth of 10.97 percent over the year-earlier level. The nation's year-on-year consumption increment stood at 245,000 tons for the nine-month period, as against the world's increment of 342,200 tons.