Frequent Environmental Protection Incidents Tighten Ingot Supply, Widening Decline in Lead Ingot Social Inventory [SMM Survey]

SMM, December 23: According to the SMM survey, as of December 23, the total social inventory of lead ingots in five regions tracked by SMM reached 56,200 mt, down by 2,400 mt compared to December 16 and by 2,300 mt compared to December 19. According to the survey, regions such as Anhui, Henan, and Hebei recently issued heavy smog warnings, while Hunan faced environmental protection inspections. Both primary and secondary lead enterprises experienced production reductions or suspensions, tightening the supply of lead ingots. This led downstream enterprises to shift their rigid demand to consuming social warehouse inventories, resulting in an expanded decline in lead ingot social inventories. Additionally, today, regions such as Anhui and Henan issued another air pollution warning, affecting the production and transportation of lead smelting enterprises to varying degrees.