SMM November 18 News:
The most-traded SHFE lead 2601 contract opened at 17,295 yuan/mt today. At the beginning of the session, due to long position reductions, SHFE lead fluctuated downward, with its trading center moving significantly lower. It touched a low of 17,215 yuan/mt towards the close and finally settled at 17,230 yuan/mt, down 195 yuan/mt, or 1.12%, marking the third consecutive day of decline.
Recently, the domestic lead market has shown a weak supply-demand balance. Supply side, affected by environmental protection-related controls in east and north China and reduced scrap collection in winter, secondary lead raw materials are in short supply, forcing some enterprises to cut production. Demand side, due to the decline in SHFE lead prices, downstream enterprises generally adopted a wait-and-see approach, with weak purchasing sentiment. Although production resumptions at some smelters in central China brought a small amount of supply, it was insufficient to reverse the overall weakness. Overall, the market lacks strong driving factors, and lead prices are expected to remain in the doldrums in the short term.
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