Market sentiment and spot cargo performance dragged down the trend of lead futures, with lead prices struggling to rise [SMM Lead Morning News]

SMM July 25:

Overnight, LME lead opened at US$2,029/mt, fluctuating sideways during the Asian session. After entering the European session, it climbed to US$2,042/mt. Due to increased short positions, LME lead jumped initially and then pulled back, reaching a low of US$2,018/mt in the tail end of the session, and finally closed at US$2,023/mt, down by 0.27%.

Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2509 contract opened at 16,890 yuan/mt, touching a high of 16,940 yuan/mt in the early session. Affected by factors such as the accumulation of social inventory of lead ingots and weak downstream consumption, SHFE lead fluctuated downward, reaching a low of 16,850 yuan/mt, and finally closed at 16,865 yuan/mt, down by 0.15%.

The impact of maintenance at some primary lead enterprises has not yet been fully lifted. Meanwhile, the losses of secondary lead have not improved temporarily, and the production enthusiasm of secondary lead smelters remains low, with quotations remaining firm, quoted at premiums of 0-100 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price. As the quotations of primary lead (electrolytic lead) in major production areas were at discounts of 20 yuan/mt to premiums of 50 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead price, the price advantage of secondary lead has declined, causing downstream enterprises' rigid demand to flow towards primary lead. Additionally, the raw material supply situation has not eased temporarily. Combined with the lead ingot supply situation, lead prices still have support in the short term.

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