Due to an increase in bearish positions, LME lead gave up all of its gains last Friday [SMM Lead Morning News]

Published: Oct 20, 2025 08:06

SMM October 20:

Last Friday, LME lead opened at $1,970/mt, moving sideways during the Asian session. Entering the European session, LME lead touched a low of $1,967/mt, then rebounded and fluctuated upward to a high of $1,986.5/mt. Due to increased positions by bears, LME lead gave up all gains and finally closed at $1,971.5/mt, with a % change of 0.

On Friday night, the most-traded SHFE lead 2511 contract opened at 17,075 yuan/mt, touched a low of 17,055 yuan/mt at the beginning of the session, then rose to a high of 17,155 yuan/mt before fluctuating downward and finally closing at 17,075 yuan/mt, up 0.15%.

Primary lead side, smelters in north China saw both maintenance and production resumptions, coupled with transportation conflicts with the fruit and vegetable season, resulting in limited spot cargo circulation, and suppliers refused to budge on prices for shipments. Secondary lead side, smelters faced factors such as scrap undersupply and limited profits when resuming production, limiting the expansion of the discount for secondary refined lead. Demand side, downstream enterprises saw stable to rising production; besides long-term contract procurement, spot order procurement also gradually recovered. Overall, the short-term lead price trend may maintain fluctuating trend.

Data source statement: Except for public information, other data are processed by SMM based on public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database model, for reference only and not constituting decision-making advice.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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