The tight balance in the supply and demand of lead concentrates has not yet eased. Some smelters in Hunan province have mentioned that domestic silver-lead ore TCs have fallen below zero. Despite some smelters having moderate long-term contract supplies and not adjusting their lead concentrate TCs quotes, there has been little actual transaction. In Henan, Inner Mongolia, and other regions, the supply of lead concentrates is relatively abundant. Except for a few silver-lead ore sellers who, during comprehensive negotiations, have raised zinc TCs while quoting lower lead TCs, smelters in these regions have low intentions to adjust the TCs for pb50, maintaining overall stability. Regarding silver pricing coefficients, silver prices have reached new highs, but market traders have strong wait-and-see sentiment. Some mines have mentioned that the silver pricing coefficient for low-silver lead ore (containing 200-500g of silver per mt) has been raised to 0.8, while lead concentrates with higher silver content have not been adjusted as they had already risen to high levels in the first half of the year. The silver pricing coefficients for other types of silver-bearing lead concentrates are expected to remain stable.
