[SMM Analysis: Downstream Routine Stockpiling Before National Day Holiday Realized, Social Lead Ingot Inventory Dropped Over 10,000 mt]

SMM, Sept. 22: According to SMM, as of September 22, the total social inventory of lead ingots across five regions stood at 54,700 mt, down 14,200 mt from September 15 and 12,900 mt from September 18.

As the National Day holiday approaches, downstream lead-acid battery enterprises have carried out routine pre-holiday stockpiling of lead ingots, with relatively improved procurement enthusiasm among medium and large enterprises. Currently, most secondary lead smelters are under maintenance or production cuts, leading to tight regional supply of lead ingots in east China. Downstream enterprises prefer procuring primary lead, including cargoes from smelters and social warehouses. As of last week, cargoes self-picked up from primary lead production sites had significantly decreased after downstream stockpiling, and social warehouse inventory also saw a substantial decline this week. With only one week left before the National Day holiday, some downstream enterprises still have certain stocking demand. Meanwhile, primary and secondary lead enterprises have gradually begun to resume production, but their contribution to current market supply is limited. The lead ingot inventory is expected to decline further before the holiday. (PS: Inventory data has been updated in the lead database at 11:00.)

Source Statement: Except for public information, other data are processed by SMM based on public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database model, for reference only and not as a decision-making suggestion.