LME Lead Inventory Continued to Decline, Overnight Prices Hit a Nearly 4-Month High [SMM Lead Morning Brief]

SMM May 14:

Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,996.5/mt, briefly touching a low of $1,995.5/mt during the Asian session. LME lead maintained strong upward momentum into the European session, reaching a high of $2,016/mt near the close, and ultimately settled at $2,004/mt, up 0.33%, refreshing a nearly 4-month high.

Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2606 contract opened at 16,655 yuan/mt, then moved sideways, with a low of 16,625 yuan/mt and a high of 16,675 yuan/mt, ultimately closing at 16,640 yuan/mt, up 0.15%.

Lead ingot inventory outside China continued to decline, while the LME Cash-3M spread remained in a slight contango. Combined with the persistently tight spot cargo availability in the Southeast Asian spot market, LME lead is expected to hold up well. In addition, geopolitical uncertainties outside China remain significant, and their impact on the market warrants continued attention. In China, spot lead prices received a slight boost from LME lead's performance, but upward momentum remained limited due to weak end-use consumption.

Data source disclaimer: Data other than publicly available information is derived from public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, processed by SMM for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.