Social inventories of lead ingots extended declines

SHANGHAI, Apr 30 (SMM)—Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin declined 5,500 mt from last Friday April 23 to 62,600 mt as of Apr 30. This was down 4,000 mt from Monday April 26.

Some lead smelters in Henan were still under maintenance this week, and this, together with the lingering impact of environmental inspections on secondary lead smelters, weighed on lead supply. Stocks in Zhejiang warehouses continued to fall as some large-scale downstream users restocked primary lead before the Labour Day holiday.

Secondary lead smelters in Jiangxi and Anhui are expected to return to normal production after the holiday as environmental inspection teams will leave, which is likely to boost lead social inventories.