Finished product inventories at secondary lead smelters in March

Finished product inventories at secondary lead smelters totalled 26,900 mt in March, a drop of 7,600 mt month on month. This includes 1,500 mt of secondary crude lead, 24,100 mt of refined lead and 1,300 mt of lead alloy.

Most secondary lead smelters gave priority to delivering lead ingots for long-term orders after resumption, leaving low available cargoes for sale; the production cuts of some large-scale primary lead smelters led to a relatively tight supply of refined lead in March, driving downstream companies to purchase secondary lead to replenish inventory; moreover, the lead price rose abnormally at the end of the month, and lead-acid battery manufacturers were cautious about sourcing. Yet, most large-scale secondary lead smelters were selling aggressively to ensure capital circulation, offering discounts of 150-300 yuan/mt against the average SMM #1 lead price. Some downstream companies purchased on dips. In March, the supply of secondary lead in the market was still adequate.