After SHFE lead broke down, another inventory buildup report emerged outside China [Lead Futures Brief Review]

SMM July 15 news: Today, the most-traded SHFE lead 2608 contract opened at 15,870 yuan/mt. Dragged down by the decline in LME lead, the SHFE lead continued its overnight fall after the opening, and the decline widened, hitting an intraday low of 15,565 yuan/mt, a new low since December 13, 2023. Meanwhile, losses in China's secondary lead sector expanded, with only 20-30% of secondary lead enterprises remaining in production. Additionally, downstream enterprises showed dip-buying interest, providing some support to lead prices. In the afternoon, the decline in SHFE lead slowed, and it eventually closed at 15,575 yuan/mt, down 1.86%. Open interest for SHFE lead on the day stood at 59,064 lots, a decrease of 5,089 lots from the previous trading day.

Furthermore, the SHFE lead 2607 contract entered delivery today, with open interest of 3,060 lots, equivalent to 15,300 mt of lead ingot delivery. Compared with the current lead ingot social inventory of over 70,000 mt, this round of delivery will be completed smoothly.

Also notably, LME lead inventory saw another single-day surge of 80,000 mt today, as invisible inventory in the trading system turned into visible inventory, putting significant psychological pressure on traders. Lead prices are expected to continue to consolidate on a weak note.

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