SMM, April 21:
The most-traded SHFE lead 2605 contract opened at 16,800 yuan/mt intraday. From the early session to mid-session, SHFE lead trended higher in a fluctuating manner. During the afternoon session, prices moved sideways within the range of 16,825-16,855 yuan/mt. Prices edged up near the close, touching a high of 16,860 yuan/mt, and finally settled at 16,845 yuan/mt, forming a bullish candlestick with no lower shadow, up 115 yuan/mt or 0.69%. On the fundamentals, lead inventory drawdowns outside China combined with maintenance at some domestic secondary lead smelters provided support for lead prices, while inflows of imported lead, weakening lead-acid battery exports, and social inventory buildup of lead ingots capped the upside room for lead prices. Sentiment side, tensions in US-Iran geopolitical situation disturbed longer-term futures sentiment. SMM expects lead prices to maintain a fluctuating trend in the short term.
Data source statement: Data other than publicly available information is derived from publicly available information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, processed by SMM for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.
