NEW YORK — Free-market zinc alloy prices were unchanged Wednesday, while one special-high-grade (SHG) zinc consumer decided to lock in just a six-month contract due to the "uncertainty over premiums."

Market participants reported almost no activity following the year-end holiday, with SHG spot premiums unchanged at 7.5 to 8.5 cents per pound and the benchmark No. 3 alloy premium steady at 17 to 19 cents per pound.

The London Metal Exchange’s three-month zinc price closed Thursday’s official session at $2,127 per tonne (96.5 cents per pound), up 2.9 percent from $2,066.50 per tonne (93.7 cents per pound) on Dec. 20.

Meanwhile, one SHG consumer signed a six-month contract for 2013 instead of the usual 12 months. "With all the uncertainty over premiums over the past few months, I wasn’t sure if they were going to stick," he said Wednesday.

The majority of market participants previously contacted by AMM reported settling 2013 contract premiums in a range of 7.5 to 8.5 cents per pound (amm.com, Dec. 12).