Futures:
Overnight, LME lead opened low at $1,974.5/mt, fluctuated upward during the Asian session; climbed to a high of $1,996/mt during the European session, and finally closed at $1,994.5/mt, up 0.86%.
Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2603 contract opened at 16,800 yuan/mt, touched a high of 16,805 yuan/mt early in the session, then weakened and probed lower to 16,700 yuan/mt due to the dual decline in fundamental supply and demand, finally closing at 16,725 yuan/mt, down 0.09%.
On the macro front:
US January seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls increased by 130,000, significantly exceeding market expectations and marking the largest increase since April 2025; the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.3%, hitting a new low since August 2025; following the non-farm data release, traders lowered expectations for US Fed interest rate cuts. The Central Bank of Kenya joined African gold accumulation efforts, planning gold purchases to strengthen buffer capacity. Indonesia plans to cut production at the world's largest nickel mine by 70%.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council is promoting central state-owned enterprises to actively expand effective investment in computing power. Ministry of Commerce: The prize pool for the lottery invoice event during the 9-day Chinese New Year holiday will exceed 1 billion yuan.
:
The Chinese New Year atmosphere is strong in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai market, most suppliers have suspended quotations, only a few can offer primary lead cargoes self-picked up from production site, but currently vehicles are scarce, except for a very few ultra-short distances that can barely manage delivery, the vast majority of lead ingots require pick-up after the holiday. Secondary lead spot order prices are sporadic, enterprise transaction willingness is weak, most enterprises have entered the holiday and suspended shipments and quotations. Simultaneously, most downstream enterprises have entered the holiday break, the final batch of lead-acid battery enterprises will also start their holiday this Saturday, downstream inquiries are minimal, and trading in the spot market is light on both sides.
Inventory: On February 11, LME lead inventory increased by 200 mt to 232,950 mt. As of February 9, the SMM lead ingot five-region social inventory increased to a five-month high.
Today's Lead Price Forecast:
Approaching the Chinese New Year holiday, spot quotations continue to decrease, downstream battery enterprises have largely entered the holiday, and lead ingot purchase willingness is sluggish. Supply and demand both decline in the spot market, individual producers offer pre-sale post-holiday pick-up prices, spot order transactions are thin. Downstream battery producers are expected to resume production by late February to early March; post-holiday focus will be on lead ingot inventory buildup and the impact of secondary lead national standard delivery matters on lead price sentiment.
Data Source Statement: Data other than public information is processed by SMM based on public information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model, for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.
![Lead Futures: LME Outperforms SHFE, Domestic Fundamentals Drag Down Lead Prices [SMM Lead Morning News]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/xVgcv20251217171721.jpg)
