Lead Concentrates Market Weekly Brief (May 18, 2026 - May 22, 2026) [SMM Lead Concentrates Weekly Review]

This week, smelters in some regions reported that lead concentrate TCs showed signs of declining again. The weekly average TC for domestic Pb50 dropped to 250 yuan/mt Pb. Some silver-lead ores rich in copper and zinc were quoted at TCs far below market transaction prices due to the contained metals being either unaccounted for or valued at low levels. Imported ore supply remained tight with few transactions. The weekly average TC for imported Pb60 was quoted at -$135/dmt, with smelters maintaining mainstream quotations in the range of -$150 to -$130/dmt. Some individual smelters, driven by by-product revenue needs and other reasons, were still willing to accept quotations of -$180 to -$200/dmt for imported silver-lead ores with relatively good contained metals. Silver prices continued to move sideways this week. Buyers and sellers had yet to reach a consensus on the rebound trend of silver prices, but silver-bearing lead ores remained a scarce resource, and the payable indicator for silver content maintained a trend of being more likely to rise than fall.