Lead Ingot Inventory in Five Major Regions Continued to Decline amid Maintenance of Deliverable Brand Lead and Power Rationing

SHANGHAI, Oct 15 – According to SMM survey, as of October 15, the total lead ingot inventory in the five major regions stood at 199,700 mt, down 6,800 mt from a week ago and down 5,900 mt from October 11.

Some primary lead smelters are under maintenance this week, and the impact of the power rationing continues, leaving the supply tight in Hunan and other regions. Downstream producers turned to inventories that are stored in social warehouses to meet their rigid demand. Lead prices rose sharply, stimulating downstream purchasing enthusiasm. The pullback of lead prices in the middle of the week attracted more downstream buyers. However, spot transactions slowed down significantly after lead prices exceeded 15,000 yuan/mt in the second half of the week. Smelters in Anhui and Henan have received notices on a new round of power rationing, but the impact in Hunan will wane. With the recovery of profits, more secondary lead smelters will resume work. The overhaul of primary lead smelters has increased, reducing the supply of deliverable brand lead. This will also reduce the possibility of lead ingots being transferred to social warehouses.