U.K. LEAD AND ZINC OFFTAKE RISES IN JANUARY

  U.K. Consumption of lead and zinc in all
  forms during January rose to 26,314 and 18,778 tonnes, from
  24,967 and 17,929 tonnes respectively in December, latest
  figures by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) show.
      Refined lead consumption rose to 23,992 tonnes from 23,194,
  while scrap offtake was 2,322 tonnes against 1,773.
      Slab zinc consumption was 14,257 tonnes against 14,190
  during December, while offtake of scrap and re-melted metal was
  4,521 tonnes against 3,739.
      Meanwhile production of refined lead in January rose to
  28,188 tonnes from 23,693 in December, but slab zinc production
  fell to 4,490 tonnes from 5,793, the WBMS figures showed.
      Stocks of slab zinc totalled 14,780 tonnes, down from
  December's 15,008.
  

