UPDATE 2-China may raise tax on imports of refined zinc

(Adds details, background and quotes, changes dateline)

By Polly Yam and Nick Trevethan

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Reuters) - China may raise a tax on imports of refined zinc to 5 percent from 3 percent, smelter officials and traders said on Tuesday, a move that may be bearish for prices and put it at loggerheads with its trading partners.

The duties, which smelter officials say are intended to support domestic smelters and allow them to benefit from restocking by China's State Reserves Bureau, could be a sign that Beijing is toning down its policies to open up trade and limit the headlong expansion of the metals sector.

"The Chinese government seems to be changing policy towards metals, away from encouraging cutbacks to one where it wants to maintain production and preserve employment," said Gayle Berry, an analyst at Barclay Capital in London.

"That's bearish for metals -- China needs to cut production and these new policies are not good news for prices."

She said the tax changes, which may go into force as early as March, may even misfire and create an even bigger headache for smelters in the longer term.

Beijing is also expected to reinstate a 5 percent tax on imports of primary aluminium that it had cancelled two years ago from March 1 to support aluminium smelters. [ID:nHKG242414]

Zinc prices in China, the world's top producer of the metal, have stayed higher than the cost of imports after the SRB bought 59,000 tonnes of refined zinc from seven smelters last month as part of Beijing's plan to support smelters at a time of anaemic demand.