SMM January 16:
Secondary lead smelters' weekly finished product inventories increased by 13,600 mt WoW to 36,000 mt. Downstream battery producers' finished battery inventories sold poorly, coupled with lead prices fluctuating at highs, resulting in low purchase willingness for raw material lead ingots; secondary lead smelters' finished product inventories piled up significantly. Notably, environmental protection-related controls were relaunched in north, east, and central China this Friday, and enterprises' operating rates are expected to decline. Meanwhile, lead price trends weakened and gradually returned to fundamentals, and downstream purchase willingness recovered. Overall, with supply growth slowing down and downstream purchases increasing, SMM expects secondary lead finished product inventories to shift to a decline next week.
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