Asian session: LME lead initially rose then fell, with bears exiting near the close, driving a slight recovery. [SMM Lead Morning Update]

Published: Jul 21, 2026 08:50

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SMM July 21:

Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,887.5/mt, rising first then falling in the Asian session, with the high at $1,888.5/mt. Entering the European session, bears added positions and LME lead drifted lower to a low of $1,871/mt. Near the close, some bears took profits and left the market, and LME lead clawed back some gains, finally closing at $1,877/mt, down 0.53%.

Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2609 contract opened at 15,840 yuan/mt, briefly touching a low of 15,790 yuan/mt in early trading before rebounding as bears cut positions, and then testing a high of 15,900 yuan/mt near the close, finally settling at 15,895 yuan/mt, up 0.54%.

This week, delivered cargoes re-entered the market, and downstream enterprises picked up more goods, with inventories at warehouses close to consumption areas declining notably. However, the lead-acid battery market remained in the off-season, and frequent high temperatures prompted some medium and large lead-acid battery enterprises to plan production cuts and holidays, weakening lead consumption momentum. In addition, the rebound after lead prices had dropped dampened downstream buying interest, and spot lead market transactions were sluggish early in the week, limiting the rebound momentum of lead prices.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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