SMM July 15: Overnight lead prices plunged. Today, most smelters lowered their quotes for waste lead-acid batteries by 50-100 yuan/mt. In east China, some smelters even halted quoting and purchasing to prevent raw material depreciation. Some enterprises maintained prices for three days and then adopted a 50 yuan/mt cut. Recyclers actively sold goods today, while a few took a wait-and-see stance.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Update] Overnight lead prices plunged, and today most smelters lowered their purchase prices for waste lead-acid batteries by 50-100 yuan/mt. Some smelters in east China even suspended quotations and purchases to avoid a discount on the raw materials purchased.

[Secondary Lead Production Update] A secondary lead smelter in north-west China has resumed purchasing waste lead-acid batteries as of today. It is expected to start production and furnace drying on August 1. For the actual output of secondary refined lead, please follow SMM!

SMM July 10 News: Today, raw material arrivals at secondary lead smelters showed mediocre performance, waste lead-acid battery prices temporarily held steady, with only individual smelters in east China cutting the price of waste e-bike batteries by 50 yuan/mt. As lead prices are currently consolidating on a weak note and smelters' purchase prices are low, recyclers have poor acceptance of the prices and low willingness to sell; therefore, raw material arrivals at secondary lead smelters still showed mediocre performance today.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Dynamics] A lead smelter in south-west China reported that the amount of retired waste lead-acid batteries remains very low. Meanwhile, recyclers are unwilling to sell because they consider the purchase prices offered by the smelter too low. As a result, arrivals of scrap battery raw materials at the enterprise are only one-third of last month's volume.

SMM, July 9: Scrap battery offers were low, and recyclers’ willingness to sell was poor. Lead prices performed poorly; secondary lead smelters’ purchase offers for scrap batteries were too low, and waste lead-acid battery recyclers showed low willingness to sell due to thin profits. Additionally, extreme weather had been frequent recently, and highway closures also affected transportation; most smelters reported average arrivals.

SMM July 8 News: Waste lead-acid battery purchase quotations have yet to significantly follow the rise — Subsequent focus on smelter arrivals. Lead prices surged today, while secondary lead smelters' purchase quotations for waste lead-acid batteries remained flat, without showing a notable follow-up increase. Due to the persistent scarcity of supply in the recycling sector, arrivals at smelters were poor. Waste battery prices are expected to remain firm going forward.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Dynamics] A recycling company under a large lead-acid battery producer in east China said that, due to the recent poor market conditions, it suspended the recycling of waste lead-acid batteries, and the resumption date is yet to be determined. Before the suspension, the tax-exclusive purchase price of waste EV lead-acid batteries was around 9,400 yuan/mt.

SMM June 26: This week lead prices drifted lower. At the start of the week, mainstream secondary refined lead was offered around parity with SMM #1 lead, with tax-exclusive sources at lower levels; downstream resumptions saw only long-term contract deals. Mid-week, smelters held back from selling and offered sparingly, with only sporadic need-based purchases. At the weekend, the holding-back sentiment intensified, and a few spot orders rose to a premium of 25 yuan/mt. Month-end, downstream players waited on the sidelines for new-month long-term contracts, leaving spot trades sluggish throughout the week. As of June 26, large domestic secondary lead enterprises recorded a per-mt loss of 539 yuan, while small and medium secondary smelters saw losses widen to 740 yuan/mt. Continued weakness in secondary lead prices, coupled with persistently high raw material costs for waste lead-acid batteries, deepened smelter losses WoW. Going forward, although some secondary lead smelters are expected to resume production, ongoing losses and scrap battery raw material supply constraints have led to coexisting reductions and suspensions in the market. Overall secondary lead supply scale next week is expected to be basically flat WoW, and the premium/discount range for secondary refined lead against SMM #1 lead is expected to stay between a discount of 50 yuan/mt and a premium of 50 yuan/mt.

[Secondary Lead Production Update] As of January 2026, the main part of the Phase IV technological transformation project of Zhejiang Tianneng Power Supply Materials (Changxing Heping Town) was completed, and the installation progress of core equipment exceeded 90%. The project possesses a complete waste lead-acid battery recycling and disposal industry chain within the province. Upon reaching full production, it will have an annual recycling capacity of 650,000 mt of waste lead-acid batteries, produce approximately 450,000 mt of secondary lead annually, and generate additional annual sales revenue of 3 billion yuan. Entering mid-June, the project's H2 production launch has become a focal point of industry attention.