SHANGHAI, Dec 28 (SMM) – Social inventories of primary lead across Shanghai and Guangdong fell 3,200 mt over the week ended December 28 and stood at 18,400 mt, SMM data showed.

As the year draws to a close, smelters and traders were keen to offload cargoes to improve cash flows. Offers for primary lead dropped this week, which prompted downstream consumers to make purchases.

As of Friday December 28, offers for domestic materials were heard at discounts of up to 50 yuan/mt against the SHFE January contract, down from premiums of 50-150 yuan/mt at the start of the week.

Offers for seaborne materials also fell to discounts of 150-50 yuan/mt, from a range between discounts of 50 yuan/mt to premiums of 100 yuan/mt. Some sellers even offered at discounts of 350-300 yuan/mt in the week.

Despite tight cash flows by the year-end, stockpiling for New Year's Day and lower lead prices triggered purchases by downstream consumers this week. This reduced social stocks.

Social inventories of primary lead across Shanghai and Guangdong fell to 21,600 mt as of December 21, down from a 16-month high of 24,000 mt a week ago.