Weakening lead prices stimulated concentrated scrap battery shipments. Next week, supply contraction coupled with smelter production resumptions will underpin market purchase prices [SMM Scrap Battery Weekly Review]

SMM, June 26:

This week, SMM #1 lead ingot prices fell by a cumulative 200 yuan/mt, and the national average price of waste e-bike batteries dropped by 25 yuan/mt in tandem. Smelters’ purchase quotes diverged, with most holding steady, a few lowering in line with lead prices, and enterprises with low inventories slightly raising their purchase prices. The prior weakening of lead prices prompted recyclers to sell off concentratedly. This week, scrap battery arrivals in East China and North China edged up slightly, while raw material inventories in other regions remained stable.

After the wave of concentrated selling by recyclers ended this week, market supply of circulating goods is expected to tighten periodically next week, and smelters’ raw material inventories are likely to pull back. Persistent losses in secondary lead smelting are suppressing room for raw material price increases. However, with more smelter production resumptions in July, raw material demand is expected to rise, and the downside room for lead prices is also limited. Therefore, smelters’ scrap battery purchase prices are expected to remain largely stable in the near term.