Limited Policy Benefits, Festive Atmosphere Prevails in the Year-End Lead Market [SMM Lead Morning Brief]

SMM, December 25:

Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,987.5/mt, with sluggish trading on the futures market on Christmas Eve. During the session, base metals generally rose as China, the largest consumer, introduced additional fiscal stimulus measures. LME lead also attempted to reach the $2,000/mt threshold but failed, and the latter part of the session saw a fluctuating downward trend. It eventually closed at $1,980/mt, down by 0.65%. Additionally, today is the Christmas holiday, and the LME is closed.

Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2502 contract opened at 17,400 yuan/mt. As the year-end approached, market trading turned sluggish, with SHFE lead trading volume shrinking significantly and open interest decreasing day by day. On the supply side, the impact of environmental protection measures on lead persisted, but lead warehouse warrant inventory remained stable. With previous bullish factors exhausted, SHFE lead showed a weak consolidation trend, fluctuating mostly between 17,350-17,400 yuan/mt during the session. It eventually closed at 17,355 yuan/mt, down by 0.4%, with open interest at 57,980 lots, a decrease of 1,240 lots compared to the previous trading day.