Lead social inventories fell on pre-holiday purchases

SHANGHAI, Apr 30 (SMM) – Social inventories of lead ingots in China edged lower this week as downstream consumers, mostly in Zhejiang and Guangdong, stockpiled in the first half of the week ahead of the Labour Day holidays.

SMM data showed that lead social stocks across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin fell over 400 mt from a week ago to 8,300 mt as of April 30.

Discounts of secondary lead expanded in the second half of the week, and this directed consumers purchases away from the primary lead. As of April 30, the discounts of secondary refined lead widened to 150-100 yuan/mt against the average prices of SMM 1# lead on an ex-work basis. Discounts as much as above 200 yuan/mt were heard.

Some of the lead ingot delivery arrived in Shanghai warehouses, and this narrowed the overall decline in domestic inventories this week. 

China’s lead ingot stocks will likely expand after the holiday as primary and secondary smelters maintain normal operations while some medium-scale and small lead-acid battery plants will leave for the holiday.