SMM Jan. 16:
Downstream battery enterprises faced sluggish sales of finished batteries and weak purchase willingness for lead ingots. Secondary lead smelters saw a sharp increase in finished product inventory pressure, leading to a sentiment of dumping goods. The mainstream spot order ex-factory prices including tax widened their discount to the SMM #1 lead average price to 300-100 yuan/mt. Affected by environmental protection-related controls and sales pressure, enterprises in many regions cut production or halted operations, and secondary refined lead production is expected to decline next week. If downstream purchase willingness improves, coupled with a slowdown in supply growth, SMM expects the discount for secondary refined lead to narrow slightly.
This week, lead prices shifted from considerable fluctuations to a retreat after a rapid rise, while scrap battery prices stabilized at highs, and the smelting profits of secondary lead smelters weakened. According to the SMM comprehensive profit/loss model for secondary lead enterprises, as of Jan. 16, 2026, the theoretical comprehensive profit/loss for large-scale secondary lead enterprises was 72 yuan/mt, while that for small and medium-sized enterprises was -146 yuan/mt (by-product revenue in the model excludes tin and antimony). Entering next week, if downstream purchasing sentiment improves while raw material prices remain firm, cost pressure on secondary lead smelters will limit the recovery of their profits.
》Order to View SMM Metal Spot Historical Prices
