Scrap battery purchase prices plummet, easing the tight supply of secondary crude lead [SMM Scrap Battery & Secondary Crude Lead Weekly Review]

SMM reported on May 23:

Amid intensifying losses, secondary lead smelters took the risk of significantly reducing their raw material procurement prices. At the beginning of the week, the mainstream market price for tax-excluded scrap e-bike lead-acid batteries was 10,140 yuan/mt. By mid-week, it had dropped to 9,900 yuan/mt, and in the second half of the week, it fell further to 9,400 yuan/mt. To prevent scrap battery recyclers from struggling to accept settlements below their recycling costs, smelters generally adopted a "price guarantee" approach, gradually lowering prices to allow recyclers to clear their high-cost inventory. It is understood that some secondary lead smelters ended their "price guarantee" this evening, while others will maintain it until Sunday, implementing the 9,400 yuan/mt price from Monday next week. Fearing further price drops, recyclers rushed to sell, resulting in a continuous stream of trucks queuing up to unload at smelters in Anhui Province throughout the week.

Regarding secondary crude lead: Due to the moderate order volume from lead-acid battery producers, the demand for lead alloys was relatively small. Most lead alloy smelters indicated that, given the limited alloy orders, they primarily relied on long-term contracts for secondary crude lead and could fulfill alloy order deliveries without purchasing spot orders. Additionally, a few lead alloy smelters reported purchasing a small amount of overseas crude lead, with the self pick-up price at the port at a discount of 200 yuan/mt against the SMM 1# lead average price. Overall, the tight supply situation for secondary crude lead has slightly eased.

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