Dear users,
Over the past two years, the trade flow of China's lead ingot market has undergone a fundamental change. The previous long-standing situation of "internal self-balancing with small-volume import adjustments" has shifted, and imported and exported lead ingots have become key variables affecting the domestic supply-demand balance and pricing center.
Firstly, import volumes have expanded sharply, with imported lead ingots rising from a supplementary source to one of the mainstream sources. According to customs data, China's refined lead imports in the first half of 2026 reached 147,000 tonnes, while five years ago (January–June 2021) refined lead imports were only 1,400 tonnes — a 10,000-fold year-on-year increase. The contribution of net refined lead imports to China's refined lead supply rose from 0.0004% to the current 3.87%. Import sources have also rapidly expanded from a few countries in the past to regions including India, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Australia, as well as Malaysia, Japan, Russia, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, and others.
Secondly, differences in standard systems have become more pronounced, and the quality of imported lead ingots is uneven. With the diversification of import sources and the growth in volumes, the quality differentiation of lead ingots entering the Chinese market has become evident. When import volumes were small, this difference had relatively limited impact on pricing; however, at the current import scale, continuing to quote under an undifferentiated single "imported lead ingot" standard can no longer accurately reflect the real transaction levels of different quality sources, and the representativeness and reference value of the price have significantly declined.
Thirdly, the rapid rise of Southeast Asian demand has accelerated the widening of the price gap between high- and low-quality lead ingots. The divergence in demand at both ends has sharply widened the price difference between high-quality and low-quality lead ingots, creating an urgent market need for a transparent and publicly accessible price benchmark that can distinguish quality tiers.
Based on the above changes, in order to more accurately reflect the true supply-demand situation and quality premium of the imported lead ingot (i.e., refined lead) market, SMM will, in accordance with the SMM pricing methodology, optimize and upgrade the existing "Lead Ingot Premium CIF Shanghai" price, with the original price name changed to "Refined Lead Premium CIF Shanghai"; and will, with reference to the lead futures delivery standards of the London Metal Exchange (LME) (EN 12659:1999, GB/T 469-2013 and ASTM B29-03 (2014)), upgrade and add the following price points:
The SMM Refined Lead CIF Premium is an indicative price formed and published by SMM in accordance with this methodology, which may be used by the trading parties as a reference basis for lead ingot import trade settlement in the Chinese market. This price reflects the actual or potentially transactable spot transaction price range for imported refined lead CIF premiums in the Chinese market at the time of publication on each full working day. The above price points will be officially launched on September 14, 2026, at which time historical prices can be viewed simultaneously on the SMM official website (https://www.metal.com/). The prices are published at 11:35 am. on every local statutory working day (trading day).
Going forward, SMM will continue to track market changes in the lead industry chain, optimize SMM prices, and better serve the industry! For any questions regarding prices, please contact lead analyst Xia Wenming at 021-51666839 or xiawenming@smm.cn.
Shanghai Metals Market Information & Technology Co., Ltd.
Lead Research Team
September 11, 2026