Social inventories of lead ingots expanded amid weakening consumption

SHANGHAI, Apr 9 (SMM)—Social inventories of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin rose by nearly 1,000 mt from last Friday April 2 to 57,300 mt as of Apr 9. This was up 1,200 mt from Tuesday April 6.

End-user consumption of lead-acid batteries continued to weaken this week, which weighed on demand for lead ingots. Primary and secondary lead smelters sold cargoes actively even as lead prices declined. Spot primary lead was mostly offered at discounts of 150-0 yuan/mt, ex-works, against the average price of SMM 1# lead. Downstream users preferred to purchase from smelters, which led to the rise in lead social inventories.

Lead social inventories are likely to grow slower next week as production at secondary lead smelters in Jiangxi was affected after central environmental protection inspection team came to the province.