Lead Ingot Social Inventory Fell 9,700 mt on Week

SHANGHAI, Nov 19 (SMM) – The social inventory of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin decreased 9,700 mt from last Friday November 12 and dropped 5,000 mt from Monday November 15 to 159,500 mt as of November 19.

The primary and secondary lead smelters were under maintenance or resumed production this week, leading to diverged supply in different regions. The smelters were sluggish in small orders transaction amid plunging lead prices, and some downstream companies have advanced the delivery of next-month long-term orders. In terms of prices, the discounts of small orders from primary lead smelters turned to premiums, and the discounts of secondary lead also narrowed. As of November 19, the prices of secondary refined lead were in premiums of -30 – 30 yuan/mt over SMM 1# lead. As such, some buyers turned to the trading market for transactions, which pushed down the social inventory.

Looking forward, both primary and secondary lead smelters will see recovery in production, and the differences of supplies in different regions will also narrow. While the lead consumption is also estimated to be moderate. As such, lead social ingot inventory will continue to fall.