SMM, October 9:
Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,891.5/mt, touching a high of $1,909/mt during Asian trading hours. Entering the European session, bears added positions and LME lead drifted lower, dipping to a low of $1,857/mt near the close before settling at $1,863.5/mt, down 1.48%.
Overnight, the SHFE lead 2611 contract opened lower with a gap at 16,025 yuan/mt, briefly touching a high of 16,035 yuan/mt in early trading before falling, dipping to a low of 15,880 yuan/mt near the close and finally settling at 15,885 yuan/mt, down 1.27%.
Following the National Day holiday, downstream lead-acid battery enterprises have gradually resumed normal production, with some downstream enterprises restarting purchases and spot market trading recovering. During the holiday, upstream and downstream enterprises had different holiday schedules, leading to a temporary absence of lead consumption. Some suppliers transferred lead ingots to social warehouses, and inventories at warehouses in various regions increased to varying degrees. After the holiday, social inventories of lead ingots accumulated as expected. In addition, before the holiday, lead smelters actively pre-sold October cargoes, and downstream enterprises picked up goods as needed during the holiday. Therefore, the post-holiday accumulation of lead ingot inventory was limited. Combined with the resumption of downstream purchasing, the subsequent growth in lead ingot inventory is expected to be limited, and lead prices are expected to maintain a fluctuating trend.
