In the spot market, the SMM 1# lead price ranged between 16,500-16,800 yuan/mt this week.
In the spot market, the operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises in January is expected to decline, with some battery companies seeing a decrease in rigid demand. In Henan, smelter supply remained stable, with premiums against SMM 1# lead adjusted down to 0-50 yuan/mt or premiums of 50-80 yuan/mt against the SHFE lead 2402 contract. In Hunan, post-New Year’s Day supply recovery was limited, and after downstream consumption weakened, spot quotes in the region saw slight adjustments to premiums of 200 yuan/mt for rigid demand transactions. In Guangdong and Yunnan, spot market supply remained tight, with some suppliers standing firm on quotes with premiums of 200-260 yuan/mt and reluctant to sell. In the trade market, after spot cargoes and warehouse warrants in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai were sold out at premiums of 100-150 yuan/mt against the SHFE lead 2502 contract at the beginning of the week, quotes for circulating cargoes decreased. Additionally, this week, secondary refined lead quotes remained firm due to declining profits, with SMM secondary refined lead spot consistently quoted at premiums against the SMM 1# lead average price for several consecutive days. Downstream procurement demand leaned towards primary lead. By the weekend, pre-holiday restocking by small and medium-sized battery enterprises was mostly completed, and market trading turned quiet with strong wait-and-see sentiment.
