On May 18, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "Implementation Measures for Capacity Replacement in the Steel Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Replacement Measures"). SMM conducted a comparative review and analysis of the relevant content...

Overall, supply in China’s petroleum coke market continued to tighten, while downstream demand remained generally stable with support, and supply and demand fundamentals provided two-way support to the market. Coupled with recent fluctuations in crude oil prices and intensified cost-side bargaining, SMM expected that in the short term, the petroleum coke market would mainly remain in consolidation, with prices of different categories continuing to diverge.

According to reports, as of January 29, the in-factory inventory of primary lead delivery brands was 28,200 mt, an increase of 5,800 mt WoW. Recently, primary lead smelters in Hunan, Jiangxi, and other regions resumed production after maintenance, leading to an increase in lead ingot supply WoW. However, demand for lead-acid batteries remained sluggish, resulting in limited stockpiling by downstream enterprises before the Chinese New Year, as per tradition. Some enterprises even suspended production around the end of January. Trading in the spot market for lead was sluggish, and smelters' in-factory inventories shifted to an upward trend. Meanwhile, the price center of lead declined again this week, prompting suppliers to actively expand discounts for spot cargo sales or transfer lead ingots to social warehouses. Additionally, due to air pollution control measures in Henan, Shandong, and other regions, vehicle transport was partially restricted, causing some enterprises' inventories to accumulate.

SMM January 28: The most-traded SHFE lead 2603 contract opened at 17,015 yuan/mt. Early in the session, due to long position reductions and weak spot trading activity, SHFE lead fell to a low of 16,955 yuan/mt. It rebounded in the afternoon to a high of 17,080 yuan/mt. However, weighed down by sluggish spot trading towards the close, SHFE lead gave up all gains, finally settling at 16,915 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt or 0.03%, marking a four-day losing streak. Lead prices recently maintained a sideways movement at low levels, significantly impacting market sentiment. Suppliers of primary lead showed a strong willingness to sell, often proactively adjusting prices to accelerate capital turnover. The secondary lead market displayed a divergent trend: some smelters widened discounts under sales pressure to boost transactions, while others chose to hold back cargoes and adopt a wait-and-see approach. Affected by factors such as air pollution control, several large secondary lead smelters in east China halted production, with additional output cuts expected this week. Overall, the SHFE lead trend is likely to maintain a fluctuating pattern in the short term. Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, other data are derived by SMM based on public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database model, for reference only and not as decision-making advice.

Secondary lead production fell in December 2025, down 5.03% MoM but up 10.3% YoY. Secondary refined lead production dropped 9.33% MoM and increased 0.84% YoY.

The weekly operating rate of leading domestic aluminum downstream processing enterprises fell 0.6 percentage points WoW to 60.8%. Due to weak orders, environmental protection-related controls, and high aluminum prices, downstream operations further deepened into the off-season. By sector, the operating rate of primary aluminum alloy pulled back 0.4 percentage points to 59.6%.