Tender and bid prices for the imported ore market were reported successively, with some smelters locking in long-term contracts for 2026. However, related TCs have fallen to -160~-200 $/dmt, leading to a generally cautious stance among smelters. In the domestic ore trading market, smelters in Henan, Inner Mongolia, and other regions continued to purchase as needed, maintaining lead concentrate TCs at 300-400 yuan/mt in metal content. Some smelters, after making advance payments and securing lead concentrate supplies for the next 2-3 months, suspended their market quotes. The situation of production decline due to lead concentrate supply deficit in southern smelters, including those in Jiangxi, Hunan, and Yunnan, has not eased. A smelter in Yunnan mentioned that although the TCs for low-silver lead concentrates did not decrease, the starting silver content pricing was lowered to 50g/mt in physical content, effectively reducing the TCs. This week, a significant rise in silver prices led to substantial by-product profits for smelters. In the short term, smelters may still focus on maximizing comprehensive by-product benefits and are willing to pay lower lead TCs for lead concentrates containing silver and other minor metals.
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