It is understood that as of July 24, the in-plant inventory of primary lead delivery brands was 6,300 mt, a decrease of 1,000 mt WoW.
This week, the in-plant inventory of primary lead smelters continued to decline, mainly due to the fact that maintenance at large smelters had not yet resumed as scheduled, coupled with additional production reductions at some enterprises, leading to a tighter supply compared to last week. Additionally, due to the price difference between secondary lead and primary lead, downstream enterprises preferred to purchase primary lead. During the week, secondary refined lead was quoted at premiums of 0-100 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price ex-factory. In the same period, primary lead prices were quoted at discounts of 50 yuan/mt to premiums of 50 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price ex-factory. Furthermore, this week marked the final delivery period for July's long-term lead contracts. Enterprises that had not yet completed deliveries focused on fulfilling long-term contracts. Therefore, during the period of falling lead prices, some primary lead smelters were reluctant to sell at low prices, further tightening the circulation volume in the spot market.
