Social Inventory of Lead Ingots may Decline Further

SHANGHAI, Feb 20 (SMM) -As of February 20, soial inventory of lead ingots totalled 80,900mt, down 2,900 mt from February 17 but up 24,000 mt from February 13.

According to research, amid the falling lead prices, secondary lead prices touched the cost line, and thus smelters were less willing to deliver. However, due to the relatively tight supply in Jiangxi, and Hunan, the prices of secondary lead were higher than that of primary lead, hence downstream enterprises preferred to purchase primary lead. In addition, after the delivery of SHFE 2302 lead contract, the supply of deliverable goods flowed into the market this week, downstream enterprises will purchase nearby. Recently, the market demand for lead-acid batteries has picked up, major enterprises were still active in production, and lead consumption has increased accordingly. The subsequent social inventory of lead ingots is expected to decline further.