July Middle East Lead Concentrate Shipments Supplement, China Imports Basically Flat [SMM Analysis]

SMM August 21 News:

According to the latest customs data, July 2026 lead concentrates imports were 115,000 mt in physical content, down 500 mt MoM or 0.62%, down 5.68% YoY. From January to July, cumulative lead concentrates imports were 819,000 mt in physical content, up 3.31% YoY.

By country, the top three lead concentrates import sources in July were Peru (23,000 mt in physical content, 19.99%), Russia (22,000 mt in physical content, 19.1%), and Oman (20,100 mt in physical content, 17.42%). July lead concentrates imports were basically flat, mainly because despite declines from Russia and Australia, Oman's imports increased significantly. From the import profit margin perspective, LME outperformed SHFE in July, with the SHFE/LME lead price ratio staying low. The import loss for lead concentrates once widened to over -700 yuan/mt, and the import window remained closed. Overall imports were dominated by long-term contract inflows and previous pending shipments.

Entering August, on one hand, LME still outperforms SHFE, leaving limited room for import profit; on the other hand, China's smelters of ore-derived lead in Inner Mongolia, Henan, and Hunan have entered maintenance season, reducing demand for mine. However, under the backdrop of nationwide safety inspections, frequent incidents at Inner Mongolia mines and stricter safety checks have lowered domestic mine supply, requiring small supplementary imports. Considering previous shipment delays, August imported mine is expected to see a slight increase.

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