Social lead ingot inventory across five major markets in China

According to SMM survey, social lead ingot inventory across five major markets in China totalled 57,300 mt as of April 25, up 400 mt from Thursday April 18 and 1,100 mt from Monday April 22.

According to the survey, some downstream companies have stepped up their production cuts due to the traditional off-season for lead-acid battery and the high lead price. Both the supply and demand in the lead market declined. The price spread between futures contracts and spot cargoes widened to 300-400 yuan/mt, prompting sellers to deliver to warehouses. As the tight supply of secondary lead has eased, the discounts of secondary refined lead were 300-150 yuan/mt against the average SMM #1 lead price on an ex-factory basis. Downstream companies preferred to purchase secondary lead.