Social inventories of lead ingots increased at a slower pace this week

SHANGHAI, Nov 6 (SMM) – Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin expanded about 700 mt from the prior week to 30,000 mt as of Friday November 6.

As secondary lead smelters continued to trim output this week, supply in the secondary lead market tightened, and discounts of secondary refined lead narrowed to 150-100 yuan/mt against the average price of SMM 1# lead, which drove some downstream users to refined lead. Meanwhile, the cuts in secondary lead output were basically offset by the increases in refined lead output as lead smelters in north China completed maintenance.

As profits improved, several secondary lead smelters plan to restore production next week, which is likely to boost social inventories.