SHANGHAI, Feb 22 (SMM) – Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin expanded 1,100 mt from last Thursday February 18 to 44,500 mt as of Monday February 22, an SMM survey showed.

Most of the downstream lead-acid battery makers restored operations from February 19, but their demand for lead ingots was not strong as they kept low operating rates at the beginning of resumption. Besides, the price spread between spot and futures prices expanded as lead prices rose close to the 16,000 mark, which prompted some traders to delivery cargoes to social warehouses.