In the spot market this week (December 22-26, 2025), lead prices strengthened, boosted by a sharp rise in precious metals and a broad-based increase in nonferrous metals. However, as the year-end approached, the availability of spot goods decreased, and market transactions turned sluggish. In Henan, suppliers maintained slight premiums for SMM #1 lead, with some suppliers quoting against the SHFE lead 2602 contract at discounts of 50-100 yuan/mt to fulfill rigid demand transactions. In Hunan, smelter inventories saw a slight accumulation, and some producers lowered their premiums against the SMM #1 lead to 10-30 yuan/mt in their quotations to complete year-end destocking tasks. For secondary refined lead, after the price rebound, suppliers' willingness to sell improved somewhat. Apart from suppliers with firm quotations following inventory declines, mainstream tax-included secondary refined lead quotations widened their discounts against the SMM #1 lead to 75-25 yuan/mt. Downstream buyers primarily focused on cargo pick-up under long-term contracts, with a few enterprises stockpiling due to price rise concerns. Overall, spot order transactions in the spot market remained sluggish.
