Lead Ingot Social Inventory Expanded 4,100 mt over Weekend

SHANGHAI, Sep 13 (SMM) – Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin expanded 4,100 mt from last Friday September 10 to 214,800 mt as of September 13. This was up 7,100 mt from September 6.

Deliverable stocks in social warehouses increased as the SHFE 2109 contract is about to be settled this week.

Lead prices bottomed out, and discounts of secondary lead expanded to 300-100 yuan/mt over the price of SMM #1 lead as of September 13. Downstream users favoured secondary lead. The stagnated sales of high-priced goods in the market also led to the increase in the social inventories.

More stocks are expected to be transferred to social warehouses before the contract settlement on Wednesday.

Some lead-acid battery companies may restock raw materials before the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday this week, and the increase in lead ingot social inventory is expected to slow down.