SMM Morning Comment For Lead Market On February 20

SHANGHAI, February 20 (SMM) –
LME lead opened at $2,069.5/mt on Monday, and kept dipping amid rising US dollar index and overseas lead inventory hike, and finally closed down 1.64% at $2,036/mt after hitting a low of $2,031/mt towards the closing session.
Overnight, the most-traded SHFE 2403 lead contract opened at 15,860 yuan/mt, and dragged down to a low of 15,825 yuan/mt by LME lead prices, and finally closed down 0.25% at 15,870 yuan/mt.
In terms of fundamentals in spot market, there was post-holiday restart of upstream and downstream sectors. Some medium and large refineries kept production during the holidays, while downstream sectors took holidays. Therefore, lead ingot stocks of refineries piled up aggressively. In addition, lead-acid battery companies resumed production, but most of them had remaining lead ingot inventory. Post-holiday stockpiling will deserve to be monitored. To sum up, lead prices may remain weak in recent days.