SMM December 24:
The most-traded SHFE lead 2602 contract opened at 17,055 yuan/mt, rose unilaterally in early trading with a strong upward momentum, continued to strengthen, touched a high of 17,305 yuan/mt before pulling back slightly and finally closed at 17,225 yuan/mt, up 260 yuan/mt or 1.53%. It recorded a large bullish candlestick.
Approaching the year-end, the lead market generally showed a pattern of weak supply and demand. In terms of supply, spot primary lead supply remained tight in major production and sales regions such as Henan and Hunan; secondary lead smelters faced production cuts due to dual impacts of environmental protection-related controls and tight raw material supply. Combined, these factors kept social inventory of lead ingots at low levels. Demand side, although the regular procurement pace of most domestic battery enterprises slowed down and overall stockpiling demand gradually weakened, there was still some rigid stockpiling demand before the New Year's Day holiday, providing periodic support to prices. Overall, lead prices are expected to continue fluctuating at highs in the short term, and subsequent attention should focus on whether the pre-holiday stockpiling intensity of battery enterprises further releases.
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