Lead prices dragged down trading, and smelters' finished product inventories increased this week [SMM Secondary Lead Inventory Weekly Review]

SMM, July 10 –

As of July 9, secondary lead finished product inventories reached 22,000 mt, up 2,500 mt WoW. Amid persistently weak lead prices, smelters showed low enthusiasm for shipments, coupled with sluggish downstream end-user orders and weak procurement demand, leading to a slight inventory buildup this week. However, multiple secondary lead enterprises recently conducted new maintenance, causing market supply to contract, and the pace of inventory buildup is expected to slow down significantly thereafter.