Key Facts
- Zinc price Global zinc rose 0.97% to US$3,929.55 per metric ton on Friday, September 4, 2026, with MetalCharts at US$3,868.
- Nexa shares Nexa Resources, a zinc miner, eased 0.36% to US$13.80 in New York, helped by Brazilian growth.
- Buenaventura shares Buenaventura, a Peruvian miner, fell 2.50% to US$33.90, tracking precious metals selling after strong US payrolls.
- Nexa production Nexa’s first-quarter 2026 metal and oxide output rose 11% year over year to 147 thousand tons.
- Smelter impact Cajamarquilla disruption cut about 7 thousand tons of refined zinc in Q2, but Nexa kept 2026 sales guidance.
- The catch Buenaventura’s drop was due to gold and silver, not zinc, as it has heavy precious-metals exposure.
Today’s Focus
Zinc prices rose on Friday, September 4, 2026.
One tracker showed a global reference price of US$3,868 per metric ton.
Another tracker, Trading Economics, listed US$3,929.55, up 0.97 per cent.
But two Latin American zinc stocks fell. Nexa Resources dropped 0.36% to US$13.80.
Buenaventura lost 2.50% to US$33.90.
Buenaventura’s stock fell. It looked more like a gold and silver story than a zinc one.
US jobs data made investors think interest rates will rise. That hurt precious metals.
Nexa did better because its zinc output is growing.
The Aripuanã mine in Brazil leads this growth.
The Cajamarquilla smelter is running again after a May fire. Nexa expects to recover the lost output by late 2026.
What matters today. Zinc prices stay near US$3,900 a tonne.
But Latin American miners moved apart.
Buenaventura depends on gold and silver.
Nexa focuses more on zinc growth.
01 The session in one read
Zinc firmed on Friday, September 4, 2026, extending its resilience as a market shaped by tight supply rather than weak construction demand.
Trading Economics said the price rose 0.97% to US$3,929.55 per metric ton.
Another tracker put it at US$3,868 per metric ton.
Not every Latin American zinc stock rose. Nexa Resources, a zinc miner, slipped 0.36% to US$13.80.
It did better than Buenaventura, a precious-metals miner. That stock fell 2.50% to US$33.90.
Friday showed a split in Latin American zinc stocks. A firm zinc price did not rescue Buenaventura shares, which fell along with gold and silver after the strong jobs report.
Nexa’s smaller decline may reflect investor focus on its rising Brazilian zinc output, rather than the temporary Peruvian smelter disruption.
Watch whether global zinc holds near US$3,900 a tonne next week. Nexa needs that price to keep growing output at Aripuanã without cutting its 2026 sales guidance.
02 The board
Nexa Resources closed at US$13.80, down 0.36 per cent.
That is a small drop for a zinc producer.
Nexa runs mines and smelters in Peru and Brazil.
Buenaventura closed at US$33.90, down 2.50 percent.
That drop was sharper than expected.
It reflects its broader business, not new news from its Peruvian zinc mines.
| Asset | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nexa Resources | US$13.80 | -0.36% |
| Buenaventura | US$33.90 | -2.50% |
Source: RT close, 2026-09-04. Where a commodity has no spot feed, an exchange-traded tracker or leading producer is shown as a labelled proxy.
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Latin America — Cross-Market Board
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 185,147.15 | -0.02% | +21.85% | 185,188.13 | 168,310 | 167,142 | — |
| IPSA | 11,315.26 | -1.14% | — | 11,445.90 | 11,210 | 10,984 | 1,513,213,483 |
| IPC MEX | 65,163.64 | -0.42% | +12.17% | 65,436.16 | 66,121 | 65,405 | 108,886,187 |
| MERVAL | 3,049,121 | -0.29% | +30.51% | 3,022,485 | 3,042,365 | 2,991,150 | — |
| COLCAP | 2,544.56 | +0.40% | — | 9.04 | 9.05 | 9.02 | 4,133 |
| BVL PERÚ | 59,978.22 | -0.31% | — | — | — | — | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.16 | +0.01% | -5.13% | 5.16 | 5.18 | 5.14 | — |
| EUR/BRL | 5.95 | +1.01% | -5.83% | 5.89 | 5.98 | 5.94 | — |
| USD/MXN | 17.06 | -0.24% | -8.58% | 17.10 | 17.08 | 17.01 | — |
| USD/CLP | 913.98 | +0.04% | -5.67% | 913.65 | 915.11 | 906.68 | — |
| USD/COP | 3,140 | +0.03% | -22.04% | 3,139 | 3,141 | 3,105 | — |
| USD/PEN | 3.36 | -0.66% | -4.82% | 3.38 | 3.38 | 3.35 | — |
| USD/ARS | 1,493 | +0.10% | +12.96% | 1,491 | 1,494 | 1,480 | — |
| USD/UYU | 40.27 | +1.24% | +1.80% | 39.77 | 40.27 | 40.23 | — |
| USD/PYG | 5,939 | +1.68% | -19.54% | 5,841 | 5,939 | 5,925 | — |
| USD/BOB | 11.64 | -0.76% | +72.04% | 11.73 | 11.72 | 11.64 | — |
| USD/DOP | 58.34 | +1.25% | -3.44% | 57.62 | 58.34 | 58.04 | — |
| USD/CRC | 445.92 | +0.89% | -9.71% | 441.97 | 448.50 | 445.92 | — |
03 What moved it
The big story today came from the United States.
The U.S. added 162,000 jobs in August.
That was strong enough to revive bets that the Federal Reserve might keep interest rates high for longer.
That hurt gold and silver, and by extension miners such as Buenaventura, which carries meaningful precious-metals exposure alongside its zinc output.
Zinc prices stayed firm. The physical market is still tight.
Nexa said the London Metal Exchange benchmark averaged US$3,241 per ton in the first quarter. That is up 14% from a year earlier.
04 The Latin American read
For investors in Peru and Brazil, the session showed that not all Andean miners move to the same beat.
Nexa is mostly a zinc company. It owns five mines that produce several metals.
It also runs three zinc smelters. One is Cajamarquilla, near Lima.
That is the largest zinc smelter in the Americas.
Buenaventura is a Peruvian mining company. It produces gold, silver, and zinc.
In the second quarter, its direct mines made 7,360 metric tons of zinc.
But its stock price still follows gold and silver closely.
05 The names to watch
Nexa is the cleaner exposure for foreigners wanting the zinc supply story without taking on too much precious-metals risk.
Aripuanã mine in Brazil hit a record for quarterly zinc output: 13 thousand tons in Q1.
For 2026, the mine expects to produce 45 to 60 thousand tons, up about 49 percent.
A May fire at the Cajamarquilla smelter cut about 7,000 tons of refined zinc in the second quarter.
Nexa expects to recover that in the second half.
The company left its 2026 sales guidance unchanged.
06 The outlook
Zinc enters next week with a firmer tone near US$3,900 a tonne, supported by constrained supply even as construction demand wobbles.
For Nexa, the big test is simple.
Can it grow output in Brazil as promised?
It must also finish recovering the output lost at its Cajamarquilla plant in Peru.
That plant is running again after a May fire.
For Buenaventura, gold and silver prices will likely matter more than zinc soon.
That is why its shares fell much more on Friday.
07 What to watch
- US rate expectations: Friday’s strong jobs report pushed gold and silver prices down. It also raised bets on more interest rate hikes.
- Nexa volume delivery: Investors are watching whether Aripuanã holds its record output pace. The Cajamarquilla recovery also has to stay on schedule.
- Global zinc supply: Tight supply has held zinc near US$3,900 a tonne. Restarting idled smelters could change that quickly.
- Galvanised-steel demand: Construction and infrastructure orders for galvanised steel remain the key demand swing factor for zinc-intensive economies across Latin America.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did zinc hold up on Friday, September 4, 2026?
Zinc rose 0.97% to US$3,929.55 per metric ton on Trading Economics.
Tight physical supply supported the price.
Strong US jobs data hurt gold and silver, but not zinc.
Why did Nexa and Buenaventura fall if zinc rose?
Nexa fell just 0.36% to US$13.80.
Buenaventura dropped 2.50% to US$33.90.
It lost value because its gold and silver holdings were hit by a sell-off.
That sell-off followed a strong US jobs report.
What is Nexa’s zinc output story?
Nexa made 147 thousand tons of zinc metal and oxide in the first quarter. That is up 11 percent from a year earlier.
Record output at the Aripuanã mine in Brazil drove the gain.
Is the Cajamarquilla smelter still disrupted?
Nexa says a May fire cut refined zinc output by about 7,000 tons in the second quarter.
The company expects to recover in the second half of the year.
It kept its 2026 sales forecast unchanged.
Market data: RT
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