Dear Users, Greetings! In recent years, China's secondary lead industry has accelerated its development toward greater scale and standardization. As the core raw material for secondary lead production, waste lead-acid batteries are integral to the entire process spanning collection, distribution, and smelting. The trading activity, channel stockpiling sentiment, and regional supply-demand divergences of waste lead-acid batteries have become key variables influencing the pricing pace of the lead industry chain. Currently, the industry only has scattered spot cargo quotations and regional transaction information, lacking unified observation indicators that can quantify market purchase willingness, channel wait-and-see sentiment, and the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream. Market practitioners mostly rely on offline inquiries, fragmented information, and subjective experience to judge market conditions, making it difficult to systematically anticipate price turning points and stockpiling pace. Information fragmentation also increases uncertainty in enterprises' procurement, sales, and inventory planning. To address the gap in industry sentiment observation, objectively reflect the true trading atmosphere of waste lead-acid batteries, and help all parties in the industry chain make rational decisions and mitigate operational risks, we officially launch the Waste Lead-Acid Battery Trading Sentiment Index, providing the industry with a standardized, trackable, and comparable sentiment reference benchmark. Starting from May 18, 2026, we will officially publish the East China Waste Lead-Acid Battery Trading Sentiment Index and the North China Waste Lead-Acid Battery Trading Sentiment Index. This index is a comprehensive indicator that quantifies the shipment sentiment of waste lead-acid battery collectors and the purchase willingness of smelters in east China (Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, etc.) and north China (Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, etc.). The scoring range is 1-5 (refined to decimals from 1.1 to 4.9), with higher scores indicating more active trading. Collector Scoring Rules 5: Panic selling, urgently offloading at low prices to cash out, no inquiries or buyers 4: Relatively strong sentiment, cautiously shipping in batches, waiting for price increases 3: Normal shipments following market trends, just-in-time procurement, no stockpiling or holding back 2: Relatively weak sentiment, sluggish shipments, scattered and slow transactions 1: No intention to ship, shipments suspended, market sluggish Smelter Scoring Rules 5: Urgently scrambling for goods, aggressively restocking, spot cargo undersupply 4: Concentrated inquiries, large-volume stockpiling, proactively increasing purchases 3: Normal just-in-time procurement, moderate restocking 2: Rare inquiries, only minimal just-in-time procurement 1: No purchase intention, purchases suspended, market sluggish The newly launched regional waste lead-acid battery trading sentiment index aims to provide secondary lead smelters, recycling traders, and upstream and downstream participants in the industry chain with an objective and referable benchmark for market sentiment and supply-demand expectations, helping all parties grasp the trading pace, reasonably arrange stockpiling and shipments, and further enhance operational decision-making efficiency and risk management capabilities. Thank you for your long-standing attention and support for SMM! We fully understand the importance of market sentiment and benchmark indicators for the operational planning of the lead industry chain. Going forward, we will continue to optimize the index compilation methodology to ensure data objectivity, continuity, and reference value. We also welcome valuable feedback from all sectors of the industry to jointly improve the waste lead raw material trading and pricing reference system and collectively promote the standardized and sound development of the secondary lead industry. Best regards! SMM Industry Research - Lead & Zinc Division Duan Pinxi 021-20707894 (duanpinxi@smm.cn) May 15, 2026

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Dynamics] With lead prices in the doldrums, secondary lead smelters faced significant cost pressure on raw materials and recently lowered their purchase quotes for scrap batteries. Meanwhile, recyclers were also expected to follow suit by cutting their purchase quotes from stores. Some recyclers in east China said they would hold prices today and lower recycling prices by 30 yuan/mt starting tomorrow.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Dynamics] It was reported that one waste lead-acid battery collection and storage entity has been established in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, namely Zhangye Mingcheng Waste Battery Recycling Co., Ltd., which has obtained the Hazardous Waste Operating License issued by the Department of Ecology and Environment of Gansu Province. The approved operating method and category is the collection (HW31, 900-52) of waste lead-acid batteries, with an operating capacity of 2,000 mt/year. A total of 4 waste lead-acid battery collection sites have been set up across the city.

On April 9, 2026, the Japanese Cabinet officially approved the latest amendment to the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Act (commonly known as the "Waste Cleansing Act"). The core of the amendment is to upgrade metal recycling operations from a notification system to a permit system, and to impose a new obligation requiring confirmation from the Minister of the Environment for scrap metal exports.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Dynamics] It was reported that the website of the Yingkou Area of the China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone recently published the "Public Notice of the Management Committee of the Yingkou Area of the China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone on the Acceptance of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the Waste Lead-Acid Battery Collection (5,000 mt/year) Project of Fenghuan (Yingkou) Environmental Technology Co., Ltd." Upon completion, the project will have a waste lead-acid battery turnover capacity of 5,000 mt/a and a maximum storage capacity of 100 mt.

Three weeks ago until now, the shortage of remelted lead in domestic SEA countries has become significantly more severe. According to SMM’s internal survey, smelters in Malaysia, Vietnam, and India are unable to secure remelted lead to produce refined lead of 99.99% and 99.97%. This tight supply of remelted lead is pushing both domestic and international trading prices of refined lead higher across the mentioned-above regions.

SMM News, Mar 13: This week, the recycling volume of waste lead-acid battery recyclers rebounded significantly WoW, with the recycling volume of some recyclers rising 40% from the initial stage of work resumption. However, affected by downstream consumption not yet having fully recovered and a relatively low volume of retired scrap battery, some enterprises still saw recycling volume that had not returned to pre-holiday levels. As secondary lead smelters resumed work at a relatively slow pace and demand for scrap battery had not yet surged, SMM expected the purchase prices of waste lead-acid battery to stabilize next week. Domestic secondary crude lead smelters posted a poor operating rate, with some enterprises suspending production due to environmental protection-related controls. Suppliers held firm offers, and the current mainstream ex-factory prices excluding tax stood at 15,250-15,400 yuan/mt. If containing some antimony and tin metals, ex-factory offers were at least 15,500 yuan/mt. At present, imported lead supply was ample, and suppliers had relatively weak bargaining power, giving downstream enterprises near ports a greater advantage in purchases. SMM expected domestic secondary crude lead supply to remain tight in the short term, with imports serving as the main supplement. » Subscribe to View Historical SMM Metal Spot Prices

[SMM Analysis] New National Standard for Secondary Lead and Inclusion in Delivery on the Agenda, Market to Shift to "Primary + Secondary Dual-Track Pricing" SMM February 27: Starting March 1, 2026, the "Secondary Lead Ingot GB/T 21181-2025" (hereinafter referred to as the "new national standard") will replace the "Secondary Lead and Lead Alloy Ingot GB/T 21181-2017" (hereinafter referred to as the "old national standard") and officially come into effect.

SMM February 13: Lead prices fluctuated rangebound during the week, with low quotation activity in the spot market. Most smelters halted shipments for the holiday, while a few enterprises, facing high finished product pressure, were willing to sell off goods, but encountered limited purchase interest. The mainstream ex-factory prices for secondary refined lead spot orders, including tax, were at discounts ranging from 100 to 0 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price, with a few spot cargoes delivered to downstream enterprises at parity. Downstream battery producers resumed production slightly earlier than secondary lead smelters after the holiday, but digesting pre-holiday lead ingot inventory was expected to take 4 to 7 days. SMM anticipated that secondary lead enterprises would show high shipment activity at that time, while downstream purchase willingness would remain low. Losses at secondary lead smelters persisted, and the number of enterprises reducing or halting production increased during the Chinese New Year holiday. Although waste lead-acid battery prices declined slightly, sluggish trading activity in the lead industry chain weighed on lead price trends. As of February 13, 2026, the theoretical comprehensive profit/loss for large-scale secondary lead enterprises was -267 yuan/mt, while for small and medium-scale enterprises it was -474 yuan/mt (by-product revenues in the model exclude tin and antimony). After the holiday, secondary lead smelters concentrated on production resumptions, leading to a surge in demand for waste lead-acid batteries; raw material costs were expected to rise significantly. If purchase willingness among downstream battery producers recovers poorly, lead price increases will face pressure, and SMM expects the loss-making trend for secondary lead to persist. 》Order to View SMM Metal Spot Historical Prices

SMM February 13: Waste lead-acid battery enterprises entered the holiday period, and the recycling market nearly halted. During the week, a few recyclers cleared inventory and arranged shipments to smelters; smelters that maintained purchasing planned to reduce their purchase prices for waste electric batteries by 50-100 yuan/mt by the end of this week. Trading activity in the lead market is expected to drop to a freezing point next week, with recycling enterprises projected to resume operations after the Lantern Festival. Trading sentiment in the secondary crude lead market was relatively cold during the week, with both offers and inquiries sparse. As of February 13, 2026, domestic secondary crude lead was offered ex-factory, excluding tax, at around 15,350 yuan/mt. Downstream refined lead and alloy smelters had basically entered the holiday, with only a few enterprises buying the dip. After the holiday, overseas lead ingot shipments to China resumed, and attention is focused on the demand-side recovery of China's secondary crude lead market. 》Order to View SMM Metal Spot Historical Prices