It is understood that as of May 16, the in-plant inventory of primary lead delivery brands stood at 18,300 mt, a decrease of 5,000 mt WoW.
This week, lead prices fluctuated upward, with the most-traded SHFE lead contract once breaking through the 17,000 yuan/mt threshold. Lead smelters and traders were active in selling, and spot order quotations for primary lead in major producing areas were quoted at discounts of 50-30 yuan/mt against the SMM 1# lead average price on an ex-factory basis. However, the consumer market for lead remained sluggish, with a few downstream enterprises taking a nearly half-month holiday during the Labour Day holiday and only resuming production this week. Even enterprises that had resumed production were operating at reduced capacity, resulting in limited demand for lead ingots. In addition, as lead prices rose, the enthusiasm of secondary lead enterprises for selling increased, with quotations for secondary refined lead in some regions as low as discounts of 125-100 yuan/mt against the SMM 1# lead average price on an ex-factory basis, diverting some of the rigid demand from downstream enterprises. This week, the in-plant inventory of primary lead enterprises declined, mainly due to the inventory transfer caused by suppliers transferring stocks to delivery warehouses.
