SHANGHAI, May 7 (SMM)—Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin expanded 4,100 mt from last Friday April 30 to 66,700 mt as of May 7. This was largely unchanged from Monday April 26.

Some primary lead smelters recovered from maintenance after the Labour Day holiday, and secondary lead smelters in Jiangxi restarted production after environmental restrictions were removed. Meanwhile, downstream lead-acid battery makers mostly purchased on demand as the sector remained in a low season currently. These led to the rise in lead social inventories. In addition, lead futures prices were strong after the holiday, while spot cargoes were traded at discounts, which prompted traders to deliver cargoes to social ware houses.