SMM News, September 30:
With the holiday approaching, the number of sellers quoting and making shipments decreased markedly this week. Spot orders were concluded at discounts of 100-0 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price, while a small amount of cargo traded at a premium of 30-50 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price. Downstream enterprises’ purchasing sentiment slowed down, and transactions turned weaker. Scrap battery prices held steady during the week, and smelters’ profit-and-loss levels changed relatively little MoM. As of September 30, the comprehensive profit and loss of SMM large-scale secondary lead enterprises was 91 yuan/mt, and that of small- and medium-scale enterprises was -86 yuan/mt (excluding income from by-products such as antimony and tin). Expectations of inventory buildup after the holiday weighed on lead prices, leaving limited upward momentum; coupled with expectations that secondary lead smelters would restock scrap batteries after the holiday, raw material prices remained firm, and secondary lead profit ranges were expected to stay stable.
