SMM April 17 News: The cost side provided support for lead prices this week, with expectations for both imported and domestic secondary crude lead to hold prices firm. Domestic regular secondary crude lead was mainly transacted at 15,300-15,350 yuan/mt excluding tax, and at a discount of around 75 yuan/mt to the SMM #1 lead average price including tax. Imported crude lead (containing 0.2 Sb, 0.3 Sn) was at a discount of around 50 yuan/mt. Downstream refined lead and alloy smelters purchased on rigid demand, mainly from imported sources. The SHFE/LME price ratio narrowed and the imported lead premium rose. It is expected that the inflow of imported refined lead will decrease going forward, but as March orders were relatively large, some cargoes will still arrive at ports in April.

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

The domestic secondary crude lead market experienced sluggish transactions. As of February 6, 2026, the ex-factory tax-exclusive offers for domestic secondary crude lead stood at 15,250-15,400 yuan/mt. Downstream refined lead and alloy smelters gradually entered the holiday period, showing weak stockpiling willingness. Overseas lead ingot suppliers basically halted transactions with China due to poor consumption in the Chinese market, with only some previously concluded shipments maintaining normal in-transit transportation. The trading atmosphere in the secondary crude lead market will continue to weaken next week.

SMM February 6 News: Lead prices continued to weaken this week, deepening losses for secondary lead smelters, prompting most enterprises to actively lower scrap battery procurement prices to control costs. Meanwhile, recycling companies, driven by risk aversion and the need for cash flow, actively shipped goods, leading to a significant increase in raw material inventory for secondary lead enterprises. SMM data showed that the raw material inventory of secondary lead enterprises increased by 20,000 mt MoM. Next week, more secondary lead smelters and scrap battery recyclers will enter the holiday period, resulting in a sluggish market with weak supply and demand. SMM expects scrap battery prices to fluctuate at lows. The domestic secondary crude lead market saw sluggish transactions. As of February 6, 2026, the ex-works price (excluding tax) for domestically produced secondary crude lead was between 15,250 and 15,400 yuan/mt. Downstream refined lead and alloy smelters gradually entered the holiday season, showing low interest in stockpiling; overseas lead ingot suppliers, due to poor consumption in the Chinese market, have largely halted transactions, with only some previously agreed shipments continuing normal transportation. The trading atmosphere in the secondary crude lead market is expected to remain sluggish next week. 》Subscribe to view SMM historical spot metal prices

[SMM Weekly Report on Secondary Lead Inventories: Downstream Battery Producers Mostly Completed Stockpiling, Limited Reduction in Secondary Lead Finished Product Inventories] SMM, January 17: As of January 17, 2025, the finished product inventories of secondary lead smelters stood at 11,760 mt, down 1,140 mt WoW. This week, downstream battery producers mostly completed stockpiling, with some small and medium-sized battery plants conducting sporadic restocking...

According to customs data, in August 2024, the export volume of refined lead was 181 mt, down 48.61% MoM and 97.94% YoY.

According to SMM survey, orders for secondary lead smelters were brisk last week, and there were few finished product inventories available for small orders. Some large and medium-sized smelters said that they had more than 1,000 mt of lead ingots for orders delivery, and they will no longer offer for small orders in the near future.

The secondary crude lead inventory held by secondary lead smelters totalled 4,100 mt in January, a slight drop of 2,400 mt MoM, while the combined inventory of secondary refined lead and alloy rose 10,600 mt to 33,000 mt. The inventory of finished secondary lead fell slightly by 8,400 mt to 37,200 mt.