According to CoinMeta, signs of tightening supply have driven zinc prices to their highest level in over four years, continuing a upward trend that has lasted for several months. A variety of factors have recently contributed to the rise in zinc prices, ranging from the Middle East conflict causing disruptions to Iran's ore supply to production interruptions at several mines. In August, zinc prices saw their fifth consecutive month of increase, and since the beginning of this year, zinc futures prices have risen by 27%, significantly outpacing copper and aluminum, which have also been severely affected by supply-side issues. Although zinc inventories at the London Metal Exchange warehouses have increased slightly recently, they remain below 100,000 tons, which is still considered relatively low by historical standards. The tight market supply is also reflected in a significant decline in processing fees for smelters; in August, processing fees dropped further to -$117.50 per ton. The decrease in processing fees indicates that the shortage of ore supply is forcing smelters to accept more stringent terms from miners, although smelters can usually compensate for some of their losses by selling by-products.