According to SMM survey, social lead ingot inventory across five major regions in China totalled 50,000 mt as of January 19, down 20,400 mt from Friday January 12 and 19,600 mt from Monday January 15.
According to SMM survey, the delivery of the SHFE 2401 contract last Monday grew social inventories. Starting from two Thursdays ago, secondary lead smelters in Anhui under went environmentally-driven production restrictions. A small number of smelters closed for CNY holidays last week, expanding the supply gap of secondary lead. Meanwhile, downstream lead-acid battery companies were stockpiling for CNY and snapped up lead ingot being offered for sale after the delivery. In this scenario, the social inventory of lead ingots decreased. This week, the production of secondary lead enterprises will resume while some enterprises will close. Regional supply differences will widen. However, migrant workers will return home, which may reduce battery production. The lead ingot supply gap will gradually shrink, and the drop in social inventory of lead ingots will slow down.
