Social Inventory of Lead Ingot Increased amid the Regional Tight Supply and Delivery of SHFE Lead Contract

SHANGHAI, Sep 9 (SMM) - As of September 9, the social inventory of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin was 71,800 mt, down 3,200 mt from last Friday (September 2) and up 1,900 mt from Monday (September 5).

According to the survey, primary lead smelters produced stably and the supply increased stably. However, most large-sized secondary lead smelters reduced the production due to losses, hence the supply of lead ingots tightened regionally. In this scenario, there was almost no price spread between primary lead and secondary refined lead. Therefore, downstream enterprises preferred to purchase primary lead. Meanwhile, lead prices increased last week, and SHFE lead prices exceeded 15,000 yuan/mt. Downstream enterprises were less willing to purchase high-priced lead. Traders quoted in discounts of 200 yuan/mt over the SHFE 2210 lead contract, and the price spread between spots and futures expanded. In addition, amid the approaching delivery of the SHFE 2209 lead contract, some cargo holders planned to deliver, hence the social inventory of lead ingots increased in the second half of the week. After the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, cargo holders will speed up the delivery 2 days before the delivery date. It is expected that the social inventory of lead ingots will increase.