On November 3, the Li-ion Battery Europe 2025, organized by SMM and supported by ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment (Government of Catalonia), was grandly held at the Hilton Barcelona, Spain!

[SMM Analysis: Lead Ingot Social Inventory Accumulated as Expected Before Delivery, Subsequent Supply Sees Both Increases and Decreases] SMM Nov. 17: According to SMM, as of November 17, the total social inventory of lead ingots across five regions reached 38,600 mt, an increase of 5,900 mt from November 10 and 3,700 mt from November 13.

[SMM Analysis:Indonesia Grants Copper Concentrate Export Permit Again – Can It Quench Immediate Thirst?] October 28, 2025 – A spokesperson from Indonesia's Ministry of Energy stated that Indonesia has agreed to issue a copper concentrate export permit to Amman Mineral International. This export quota is set at 480,000 metric tons of ore, valid for six months. Indonesia's copper concentrate primarily flows to China, Japan, and South Korea, with China having the largest demand. This resumption of exports from Indonesia has become a market focus, coinciding with the timing of long-term contract negotiations between smelters in China and Japan and Antofagasta. Can Indonesia's copper concentrate export permit reshape the flow of copper concentrate in Asia? Can it improve the supply and demand balance for copper concentrate in China? Can it support buyers, represented by Chinese smelters, in enhancing their bargaining power in the long-term contract negotiations?

The average price of SMM 10-12% high-grade NPI fell by 9.8 yuan/mtu WoW to 909.6 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), while the average Indonesian NPI FOB index price dropped by $1.1/mtu WoW to $112.37/mtu. During the traditional off-season, end-use consumption remained weak, and high-grade NPI prices continued to decline this week.

The global copper scrap trade is entering a new cycle of restructuring. Over the past decade, the global trade network for copper scrap has been highly dependent on China. However, since China implemented the Solid Waste Import Ban in 2018, the global supply chain has been forced to reorganize, and a large volume of copper scrap has been redirected to Southeast Asian countries. By 2020, as Southeast Asian countries gradually tightened import controls, the global copper scrap market ongoing a “second phase of flow rebalancing.”

[SMM Analysis: Shipments to Delivery Warehouses and Imports Arrive, Social Lead Ingot Inventory Expected to Rise Before Delivery] SMM Nov 10: According to SMM, as of November 10, the total social inventory of lead ingots across five regions reached 32,700 mt, up 2,500 mt from November 3 and increasing by over 900 mt from November 6.