According to SMM survey, social lead ingot inventory across five major regions in China totalled 43,500 mt as of January 25, down 6,500 mt from Friday January 19 and 2,500 mt from Monday January 22, the lowest in six months.
As migrant workers returned home, some downstream companies will begin to reduce production or directly stop production for CNY holidays. Therefore, last week was the final week of concentrated stockpiling by downstream companies ahead of CNY. That, combined with soaring lead prices, dampened the purchasing enthusiasm of downstream companies. With low stocks at primary lead and secondary lead smelters, some companies that needed spot cargoes continued to purchase lead ingot stocks in social warehouses. Therefore, social stocks continued to decline, but the decline narrowed. This week, downstream companies will shut down. With the CNY approaching, long-distance logistics vehicles will be reduced, and downstream pre-holiday stockpiling is coming to an end. Meanwhile, some secondary lead smelters will also close. Both the supply and demand of lead ingots will fall, and the subsequent decline in lead ingot inventories will further slow down.
