China Lead Concentrate Imports Rise in July on Demand Improvement

SHANGHAI, Aug. 26 (SMM) – China imported 131,000 tonnes of lead concentrate in July, up 25.9 percentage points from June thanks to growing demand, China Customs reported.

The rise in operating rate at domestic lead smelters boosted demand for lead concentrate. Domestic major lead smelters saw operating rate at 60.55% on average in July, up 2.25 percentage points MoM, SMM survey showed.

Imported materials enjoyed price advantages over domestic concentrate and this excited lead smelters to import more concentrate. Imports were 900 yuan per tonne (Pb content) lower than domestic concentrate in June, jumping considerably from May’s 100 yuan per tonne (Pb content).  

In July, only 6,000 tonnes of concentrate were imported from goods at bonded warehouses, mirroring that most imports have been digested by market instead of being stored at bonded warehouses. 

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