SMM, August 13: Prices in the waste lead-acid battery market held steady today. Some smelters continued to raise purchase quotes, with the waste e-bike lead-acid battery purchase price raised by 20-100 yuan/mt, while adjustments for waste automotive lead-acid battery (white shell) and black shell varied. Recycling traders had already completed price adjustments following smelters over the previous two days. Today, recycling quotes in Hebei, Shandong, Sichuan, Fujian, and Northeast China, among other regions, remained unchanged, and the market as a whole showed relatively strong wait-and-see sentiment. Purchases on the recycling side were moderate; suppliers showed weak willingness to sell, and they mainly held back from selling and took a wait-and-see stance. A survey showed that although some smelters continued to raise purchase prices today, recycling traders had not yet followed the increase, mainly waiting to see whether smelters would adjust prices further, or waiting until prices gradually stabilized before making adjustments. Scrap battery prices are expected to remain stable with a wait-and-see sentiment in the short term. If some smelters continue to raise purchase quotes, e-bike battery prices still have some upside room; if smelters stabilize their pace of price adjustments, recycling-side quotes may hold at current levels.

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Minutes: Macro Tailwinds Boost Lead Prices; Watch for Risks of a Retreat After Rapid Rise Amid Tug-of-War between Sellers and Buyers] The macro front saw mixed signals. A weaker US dollar lifted base metals broadly, and lead prices may continue to consolidate at highs. Fundamentals side, supply-side expectations for production cuts remain...

SMM March 17 News: Today, the waste lead-acid battery market was stable with supplementary gains. Some recycling traders raised their battery price quotes by 50–100 yuan/mt from the previous day, mainly a supplementary increase following smelters' price adjustments yesterday afternoon; smelters, having just completed price adjustments yesterday, kept their purchase price quotes largely flat from the previous day, with no consecutive price chasing seen for now. A survey showed that some recyclers believed prices still had upside room, with a low willingness to sell, mainly holding back from selling and staying on the sidelines. In the short term, scrap battery prices have been generally stable recently, and with smelters having just completed a round of adjustments, the momentum for widespread consecutive hikes is temporarily limited; however, if recyclers continue to hold back from selling and market supply remains tight, price quotes may still edge up in some areas. Scrap battery prices are expected to be mostly stable with localized strength on the following day, with focus on actual smelter arrivals, purchasing enthusiasm, and recyclers' shipment pace.

August production schedules were further under pressure, with the MoM impact on refined lead reaching -22,300 mt. Most enterprises had held a pessimistic view on the market outlook earlier, making maintenance and low-load operations the norm. Many smelters postponed their originally planned production resumptions for August to September.

SMM August 11 News: Anhui dealers reported that e-bike lead-acid battery market demand was weak, the wholesale battery market maintained a promotional atmosphere, with the main model 48V12Ah wholesale price at 270-280 yuan per set, battery inventory was nearly one month, and only a few battery models were restocked. Zhejiang manufacturers reported that e-bike lead-acid battery market demand was weak, finished product orders had not improved, the factory produced based on sales, with an operating rate around 70%, lead prices had risen recently, and production focused on consuming existing lead inventory. Jiangsu manufacturers reported that the traditional peak season for the e-bike lead-acid battery market was underperforming, dealer purchasing enthusiasm was low, battery inventory digestion was slow, the factory's operating rate was maintained at around 70%, and raw material lead was procured only on a just-in-time basis.

SMM, August 11: The waste lead-acid battery market consolidated with slight gains today. Some secondary lead smelters successively raised their purchase quotes by 20-100 yuan/mt, while others held prices steady for the time being, with regional price adjustment paces diverging. As earlier expectations for price hikes were gradually met, market sentiment warmed up. Some recyclers still held expectations of further price increases, turning cautious in selling and waiting for additional price adjustments from smelters. Overall circulation of social sources was moderate, and smelters had not yet engaged in widespread aggressive buying to chase higher prices. Scrap battery prices are expected to continue to consolidate on a strong note in the short term. Monitor lead price trends, recyclers' willingness to sell, smelters' arrivals, and subsequent price adjustments.

[Lead Market Dynamics] On August 7, 2026, China Tower launched its 2026 nationwide centralized procurement tender for valve-regulated sealed lead-acid batteries, with a total procurement scale of 2,214.72 MWh. The tender covers three types of telecom batteries: 2V standard, 12V standard, and 12V front-terminal. The project will award contracts to up to four winning bidders and sets a maximum price per watt-hour. Only original manufacturers with cumulative sales revenue from valve-regulated sealed lead-acid battery products of at least 100 million yuan (tax inclusive) over the past three years are eligible to bid. The deadline for bid document submission is August 14. The lead-acid battery market for telecom backup power has ushered in an annual large-scale procurement opportunity.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Dynamics] Intraday lead prices drifted higher, and sentiment of holding back from selling among waste lead-acid battery recyclers intensified. Some secondary lead smelters plan to raise scrap battery purchase prices to ensure raw material arrivals. It is reported that a company in east China has raised its water battery price by 20 yuan/mt, while its EV battery price remains unchanged, effective tomorrow.

Next week, the key macroeconomic data will include the US July unadjusted CPI YoY rate, July retail sales MoM rate, and preliminary August one-year inflation expectations. On the geopolitical front, tensions in the Middle East have eased. According to US media, Iran and Oman have reached a temporary agreement on the Strait of Hormuz issue; meanwhile, US President Trump again stated that military operations against Iran may end soon. In addition, the US will release several economic indicators next week, and markets will continue to monitor statements from Fed officials on future monetary policy. In the short term, the macro front remains highly uncertain, providing limited support for base metal prices. On the LME lead front, suppliers in markets outside China have been actively picking up goods recently, with LME lead inventory dropping by over 16,000 mt this week. However, considering the current overseas lead consumption situation, the supply shortage is mainly concentrated in 4N lead, while 3N lead trading remains sluggish. The market widely views this destocking as a result of inventory transfers rather than improvement in end-use consumption. Meanwhile, LME lead Cash-3M contango widened further to -$47.56/mt, also reflecting that expectations for spot consumption improvement remain limited. Attention should still be paid to developments in the Middle East and the Fed's monetary policy impact on the base metal market. Next week, LME lead is expected to continue its range-bound consolidation, trading at $1,870-1,915/mt. For SHFE lead, the accumulation of lead ingot social inventory is a normal phenomenon ahead of SHFE lead delivery. As delivery approaches next week, suppliers are expected to further increase shipments to delivery warehouses, and visible inventory may continue to rise, exerting some pressure on lead prices in the short term. However, on the supply side, maintenance shutdowns at major primary lead delivery brand smelters are gradually starting, which could become an important factor supporting lead prices in mid-to-late August. The most-traded SHFE lead contract is expected to dip first and then stabilize and rebound, with a trading range of 15,450-15,900 yuan/mt. Spot lead price forecast: 15,400-15,650 yuan/mt. In the short term, downstream lead-acid battery enterprises are seeing both production recovery and output cuts, and consumption improvement remains limited, providing insufficient support for lead prices. On the supply side, maintenance shutdowns at primary lead smelters are increasing, and market availability of goods is expected to tighten gradually, with primary lead spot cargo likely to maintain a slight premium. If lead prices gradually recover, secondary lead enterprises' losses are expected to be repaired, and smelters' willingness to sell may pick up accordingly, with secondary refined lead trading at a discount likely to increase.

Recently, end-use consumption in the e-bike and automotive battery markets showed no significant improvement. Dealers maintained purchasing as needed, and the wholesale battery market was awash with sales promotions. Among them, the wholesale price of the main e-bike battery model 48V20Ah remained at 360-390 yuan per unit. In the automotive battery market, some brands launched promotions such as "buy-one-get-one-free" to drive dealer procurement, but overall market consumption remained weak. On the producer side, most enterprises maintained producing based on sales and purchased lead ingots as needed. At the beginning of the week, lead prices fell sharply, stimulating some enterprises to restock at low levels. As lead prices subsequently rebounded, the purchasing enthusiasm of downstream enterprises weakened again, and the market reverted to just-in-time procurement. Trading in the spot market was mediocre.