Lead Ingot Social Inventories Expanded 5,500 mt over Weekend

SHANGHAI, Aug 9 (SMM) – Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin increased 5,500 mt from August 6 and rose 11,300 mt from August 2 to 188,900 mt as of August 9.

Lead prices kept falling. With the approaching of the settlement for the August contracts, holders continued to deliver goods to social warehouses amid wide price spread between spots and futures.

At the same time, downstream companies were cautious in purchasing, especially in Jiangsu and other regions affected by the pandemic, and logistics in medium- and high-risk areas were impeded. Henan implemented power curtailment, which slightly limited the supply as well as the demand, and the sales of lead ingots were restricted to some extent. Therefore, social inventories of lead ingots kept rising.