SMM Oct. 17:
Recently, the operating rate of secondary lead smelters increased significantly, leading to a corresponding rise in raw material procurement demand. Against this backdrop, some smelters in east China, southwest, and northwest China raised their purchase quotations for scrap batteries. The overall willingness of recyclers to sell was moderate, but a few recyclers, due to limited inventory on hand, chose to hold back cargoes and wait for market developments. Currently, the mainstream tax-included purchase price of scrap batteries by secondary lead smelters was 9,950-10,100 yuan/mt, while the purchase price in remote areas was below 9,900 yuan/mt. As the digestion rate of smelters' raw material inventory accelerated, scrap battery prices still had room to rise subsequently. However, as lead prices struggled to rise and showed a rangebound fluctuation trend, smelters were reluctant to significantly raise purchase prices, which limited the extent and speed of scrap battery price increases to some extent.
The supply of domestic secondary crude lead remained tight. Smelters in regions such as Hebei and Henan reported very low trading volume of domestic secondary crude lead in the past two weeks. As of Oct. 17, 2025, the mainstream ex-factory price of secondary crude lead was 15,700-15,850 yuan/mt. The import window for crude lead was open. Depending on factors such as cargo quality, delivery cycle, and country of origin, the delivered price of crude lead was at discounts of 0-200 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price.
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