SHANGHAI, Dec 18 (SMM) – Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin expanded 6,900mt from the prior week to 57,100 mt mt as of Friday December 18.

A secondary lead smelter in Anhui with annual capacity of 100,000 mt came online this week, and arrivals of cargoes at social warehouses further increased after delivery. Lead prices weakened at the start of the week, with the most-active SHFE 2101 lead contract at one point falling below 14,500 yuan/mt, and this encouraged downstream users to restock. Improved demand from downstream buyers slowed the rise in lead social inventories.

Next week, issues like heavy air pollution in north China and power supply shortages in the south will be monitored, and the increase in lead social inventories are expected to further slow.