Funds' Sentiment to Rush to Buy Amid Continuous Price Rise Was Cautious, SHFE Lead Only Slightly Closed Higher Today [Lead Futures Brief]

SMM August 7 news:

SHFE lead: The most-traded SHFE lead 2609 contract opened at 15,700 yuan/mt today, consolidated around the 15,705-15,750 yuan/mt range, held up well overall, with the price center moving up from yesterday, and closed at 15,730 yuan/mt at the end of the session, up 80 yuan/mt or 0.41% from the previous closing price. Trading volume was 64,192 lots, and open interest decreased by 3,350 lots to 54,620 lots. SHFE lead closed slightly higher today, but open interest continued to pull back, with limited incremental funds, and market sentiment for chasing the rally remained cautious.

Fundamentals side, today SMM #1 lead average price rose 50 yuan/mt. Suppliers were active in selling. Some smelters in south China, affected by maintenance, production cuts, and low inventory, still intended to hold prices firm. Secondary refined lead continued to sell at a discount. After lead prices rose, downstream wait-and-see sentiment intensified. Some enterprises waited for prices to pull back before restocking. Additionally, the impact of high-temperature holidays, spot purchases were still dominated by long-term contracts and rigid demand, with overall market transactions weak.

Overall, the supply side still had some support, but downstream purchases were weak, and spot transactions did not significantly improve as lead prices rose. In the short term, lead prices may maintain range-bound consolidation.