Social Inventory of Lead Ingots Declined across Five Chinese Markets

As of April 7, the social inventory of lead ingots across five markets was 33,600 mt, down 6,100 mt from March 31, and 4,800 mt from April 3. In April, a new round of maintenance at primary lead and secondary lead smelting enterprises in Henan, Anhui and other major lead producing areas intensified regional shortage of lead ingot supply. At the same time, the prices of lead fell at the beginning of the week, making downstream enterprises purchase at low prices according to their needs. As secondary refined lead prices exceeded primary lead prices, downstream buyers preferred primary lead, driving sharper declines in social inventories. This week, primary lead output will be reduced due to maintenance, and the supply of delivery brand will be less. The delivery of the SHFE 2304 lead contract will lead to stock accumulation. It is expected that there will be fewer available supplies in the refined lead market, but the decline in social inventory may slow down.