Maintenance and Resumption Coexist in Primary Lead Enterprises, with Relatively Small Changes in In-Plant Inventory [SMM Weekly Review of Primary Lead Inventory]

        It is understood that as of June 20, the inventory of primary lead delivery brands in factory warehouses was 11,200 mt, a decrease of over 300 mt WoW.

This week, maintenance and resumption of operations coexisted among primary lead smelters. In major production regions such as southwest and south China, some smelters experienced production cuts due to maintenance, and the impact of these cuts is expected to expand in the coming week. Meanwhile, smelters in east China resumed operations after maintenance. Due to the time lag in production adjustments among smelters, supply showed an upward trend this week, although there were regional supply shortages. Lead prices dropped slightly at the beginning of the week, and downstream enterprises made purchases as needed, leading to a decline in smelters' factory inventories. However, in the second half of the week, as lead prices approached the 17,000 yuan/mt threshold, downstream enterprises' purchasing enthusiasm waned. At the same time, some smelters, facing low inventory levels, became reluctant to sell at "low" prices. As a result, factory inventories of primary lead smelters only decreased slightly this week.