[Lead-Acid Battery Enterprise Updates] According to information from the National Intellectual Property Administration, Tianneng Battery Group Co., Ltd. has applied for a patent titled “A positive electrode paste for lead-acid batteries and its preparation method and application.” The application publication number is CN122202305A, and the application number is CN202610065109.6.

[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.

[Lead Alloy Market Updates] After the import window closed, inflows of overseas crude lead declined significantly. Offers for domestically produced secondary crude lead were firm, while purchase willingness among downstream lead alloy enterprises remained low. Meanwhile, with tin and antimony prices trending weakly recently, suppliers held back from selling, causing procurement difficulties for lead alloy enterprises, with some currently cutting production by 50%. Due to poor sales of new orders for lead-acid batteries, demand for lead alloys from battery manufacturers was weak. Therefore, the production cuts at lead alloy enterprises have not yet had a significant impact on the lead price trend.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Market Update] Lead prices have dropped sharply recently, prompting secondary lead smelters to significantly lower their scrap battery purchase prices by 50-150 yuan/mt to cut costs. Currently, the tax-exclusive quotation for waste lead-acid batteries used in EVs stands at 9,350-9,400 yuan/mt in the market.

[SMM Analysis] Lead Prices Plunge to 27-Month Low – Is the 16,000 "Lifeline" About to Break? SMM June 9 News: As of the close at 11:30 a.m. today, the main SHFE lead contract 2607 was reported at 16,070 yuan/mt, down 305 yuan/mt, a decline of 1.86%, hitting an intraday low of 16,055 yuan/mt, the lowest since March 8, 2024.

[Lead-acid Battery Market Update] Recently, the Chongqing Municipal Government Procurement Network issued a tender announcement, officially launching an open tender for the Fengjie County Public Security Bureau server room UPS and supporting battery procurement project (Project No.: FJX26A00062), with a total budget and maximum price both set at 1.1 million yuan. According to the tender documents, the procurement scope includes a 300kVA modular online double-conversion UPS system and 12V200Ah valve-regulated sealed lead-acid batteries.

According to SMM, from May 22 to May 28, 2026, the weekly comprehensive operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises across five provinces was 66.87%, basically stable WoW. Recently, the off-season trend in e-bike and automotive battery markets remained unchanged. Orders for lead-acid battery enterprises were weak, and some enterprises had relatively high finished product inventories. Major enterprises generally maintained the produce-based-on-sales model, and the weekly operating rate remained unchanged. As June approaches and the mid-year period begins, with fewer holidays in June and large enterprises considering their mid-year production and sales plans, some enterprises plan to slightly raise their production plans. It is expected that the weekly operating rate of lead-acid batteries may rebound as early as next week.

SMM May 28: Overnight, LME lead opened at $2,016/mt, rising first then falling during the Asian session with a high of $2,021/mt. It then fluctuated downward after entering the European session, dipping to $2,000/mt near the close, and finally settled at $2,001/mt, down 0.72%. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2607 contract opened lower with a gap at 16,690 yuan/mt, briefly touching a high of 16,710 yuan/mt at the start of the session. After bulls reduced positions, it fluctuated downward to a low of 16,580 yuan/mt, and finally settled at 16,615 yuan/mt, down 0.69%. End-use demand for lead-acid batteries weakened, with retail stores seeing new battery inventory buildup and low scrap battery recycling volumes. Sales promotions were frequent in the market, and manufacturers' willingness to purchase lead ingots remained subdued. Additionally, multiple secondary lead enterprises plan to resume production after maintenance ends in early to mid-June, concentrating short-term bearish factors on lead prices. Subsequent focus should be on scrap battery supply and its impact on enterprises' production resumption progress. Data source disclaimer: Data other than public information is derived from public information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, processed by SMM for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.

Futures: Overnight, LME lead opened at $2,016/mt, rising first then falling during the Asian session with a high of $2,021/mt. It then fluctuated downward during the European session, dipping to $2,000/mt near the close, and finally settled at $2,001/mt, down 0.72%. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead 2607 contract opened lower with a gap at 16,690 yuan/mt, briefly touching a high of 16,710 yuan/mt early in the session. After bulls reduced positions, it fluctuated downward to a low of 16,580 yuan/mt, and finally settled at 16,615 yuan/mt, down 0.69%. On the macro front: Samsung's union approved a wage agreement, averting strike risks. Reports indicated that TSMC will raise 3nm prices by 15% in H2, with a potential further 10% increase next year. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept interest rates unchanged for the third consecutive time, signaling that earlier and larger rate hikes may be needed. EU sources: EU member state governments have approved legislation to implement tariff reductions on US goods imports. China's State Administration for Market Regulation deployed local market regulators to carry out a special campaign on credit-empowered rectification of "involution" competition, May-December. ChangXin Technology's STAR Market IPO was approved by the listing committee. HKEX: launched a full-market trading fee waiver for gold futures. NBS: From January to April, total profits of China's above-scale industrial enterprises reached 2,435.84 billion yuan, up 18.2% YoY. From January to April, rapid development of semiconductor-related industries drove profit growth in electronic specialty materials manufacturing, optical fiber manufacturing, and optoelectronic device manufacturing by 601.7%, 347.6%, and 51.0%, respectively. : Circulating cargoes in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai market were limited, with few quotations from suppliers. SHFE lead continued to hold up well yesterday, and suppliers showed moderate willingness to ship, though mainly cargoes self-picked up from production site of primary lead smelters, with relatively firm quotations. Secondary lead smelters shipped along with the market, with some quotations turning to discounts. Secondary refined lead was quoted at premiums of -25~0 yuan/mt against SMM #1 lead, while a few regions quoted at premiums of +50 yuan/mt. As lead prices rebounded, downstream enterprises were cautious about purchasing at high prices, with some enterprises negotiating more. Only cargoes at large discounts (against the most-traded SHFE lead contract) saw transactions. On the inventory front: On May 27, LME lead inventory decreased by 1,350 mt to 284,350 mt. As of May 25, total SMM lead ingot social inventory across five locations decreased by 3,200 mt compared with May 18. Lead price forecast for today: End-use demand for lead-acid batteries weakened, with new battery inventory accumulating at stores and scrap battery recycling volume remaining low. Frequent market sales promotions have dampened manufacturers' willingness to purchase lead ingots. Coupled with several secondary lead enterprises planning to resume production after maintenance in early-to-mid June, factors pressuring lead prices have converged in the short term. Going forward, focus should be placed on scrap battery supply and its impact on the pace of enterprise production resumptions. Data source disclaimer: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models. The data are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making advice.

[Waste Lead-Acid Battery Collection Enterprise Updates] Recently, the Xinye Branch of the Nanyang Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau in Henan Province officially approved the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the waste lead-acid battery collection, storage, and transfer project of Nanyang Zhongjie Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (Wan Xin Huan Shen [2026] No. 8). The project will construct a comprehensive workshop integrating weighing, loading and unloading, and storage, with designated areas for intact batteries, dedicated storage rooms for damaged batteries, and temporary hazardous waste storage rooms, with a designed annual collection and transfer capacity of 5,000 mt of waste lead-acid batteries.