Social inventories of lead ingots rose for three consecutive weeks

SHANGHAI, Mar 1 (SMM) – Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin expanded 1,800 mt from last Friday February 26 to 48,500 mt as of Monday March , an SMM survey showed. This was up 3,900 mt from last Monday February 22.

Lead-acid battery producers have gradually resumed operations after the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday, but high lead prices deterred them from restocking. Besides, the large price spread between spot and futures prices prompted some brands to deliver cargoes to social warehouses, which led to the rise in lead social inventories.