Zinc prices rose during Mondays trading on the London Metal Exchange, reaching their highest level in four months, after data showed that more than half of the exchange-registered inventories had been earmarked for withdrawal.

Data from LME warehouses revealed that total zinc inventories stand at 118,200 tons, with nearly 50%approximately 59,900 tonsalready allocated for delivery, raising expectations of tightening supply.

Natalie Scott-Gray, Senior Metals Analyst at StoneX, commented that it remains unclear whether the recent movement in inventories is driven by genuine demand or by commercial arrangements to benefit from storage yields.

She added in remarks to Reuters that if similar quantities are not returned to the exchange in the coming weeks, it could indicate real demand from the European market.

Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index fell by 0.7% to 97.7 points as of 16:19 GMT, after recording a high of 98.5 and a low of 97.7.

In trading, the most active zinc futures on the London Metal Exchange rose by 0.4% to $2,834 per ton, after touching $2,876the highest level since March 28.