Social inventories of lead ingots in China continued to trend downsides this week, but the decline slowed down from a week ago due to rising supplies of secondary lead.

Operating rates across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces averaged 53.8% in the week ended April 3, up 1.3 percentage points from the prior week, showed an SMM survey.

SHFE nonferrous metals, except for nickel, traded higher on Tuesday as market sentiment improved on better-than-expected data on China’s manufacturing activities in March. Official data released on Tuesday showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for March came in at 52, returning to expansion and defying expectations of a contraction amid the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Shanghai base metals opened higher across the board on Tuesday, as US stocks extended its rally from its deep rout triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Zinc inventories in China continued to fall over the weekend, propelled by declines in east and north China where downstream consumers were keen to make purchases. SMM data showed that social inventories of refined zinc ingots across Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Hebei stood at 304,000 mt as of Monday March 30, down 3,000 mt from Friday March 27 and 20,000 mt from Monday March 23.

SHFE nonferrous metals rose across the board on Friday March 27, as investors hoped that Beijing would roll out more monetary and fiscal measures to bolster its economy. Market sentiment was also lifted by the news that leaders of the Group of 20 major economies will inject over $5 trillion into the global economy to counter the impact from the COVID-19 and “do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic.”

Inventories of steel rebar across Chinese steelmakers and social warehouses fell for the second consecutive week as of March 26 on the back of improved downstream purchases. However, the overall inventories remained significantly higher than the same period after the Chinese New Year holiday last year, which threatens some downside risk in spot rebar prices. SMM expects the overall inventories to return to levels of the previous year only around mid-May.

Inventories of aluminium billet in China fell for the third consecutive week as of March 26, due to stable deliveries and reduced arrivals.

Social inventories of long steel (including wire rods and rebar) in Guangzhou fell 4.24% in the week ended March 25 to 2.3 million mt, 25.49% higher than the same period after the Lunar New Year holiday last year, showed SMM data.

SHFE nonferrous metals extended declines across the board on Thursday, in a broad sell-off amid renewed fears about the hit to global demand from the coronavirus. Copper fell to its daily limit for the second consecutive day, losing 9% on Thursday, as the metal is seen by investors as a gauge of economic health. Scheduled output controls at some copper mines failed to lend support to the prices.