Social inventory of lead ingots increased as expected on the eve of delivery, with subsequent attention to the production trends of lead smelters [SMM Social Inventory of Lead Ingots]

        SMM News on July 14: According to SMM, as of July 14, the total social inventory of lead ingots in five regions tracked by SMM reached 63,400 mt, an increase of 5,600 mt from July 7 and an increase of 2,400 mt from July 10.

        With only one working day left until the delivery of the SHFE lead 2507 contract, suppliers continued to transfer inventory to delivery warehouses, resulting in a cumulative increase in the inventory of lead ingots in social warehouses as expected. It is understood that based on the estimation of the open interest of the front-month contract, the delivery volume of lead ingots in this round is expected to be close to 18,000 mt, representing an expected MoM increase of 5,000 mt compared to the delivery volume of the previous month. However, due to the recent preference of downstream enterprises for purchasing cargoes self-picked up from production sites with relatively lower prices from smelters, there is limited availability of deliverable inventory for delivery brand enterprises. Meanwhile, the current base of lead ingot inventory in social warehouses is higher than that of the same period last month. Therefore, even though the expected delivery volume of lead ingots is higher than that of the previous month, it has not led to a significant transfer of lead ingot inventory. In addition, the commissioning of new capacity at primary lead enterprises in Central China in recent days has not met expectations, and unplanned maintenance has occurred, resulting in a regional tight supply of lead ingots. It is expected that after the resolution of the lead ingot delivery factors, the growth trend of social inventory will slow down.