Low SHFE Lead Price Eroded Profit of Secondary Lead Smelters

SHANGHAI, Feb 20 (SMM) - Last week, the price of SHFE 2303 lead contract was low and continued to fall in the second half of the week. The procurement price of battery scrap for secondary refined lead smelters declined in tandem.

According to SMM estimates, under the current battery scrap price and lead price level, secondary lead smelters still have a profit of around 100 yuan/mt. Some secondary lead smelters reported that they had purchased high-priced battery scrap and that, they were already at a loss due to the time it took to process battery scrap into secondary refined lead as well as the cost and selling prices through the process.