[SMM Lead Morning Brief: Under High Inventory Pressure, LME Lead Nearly Lost the 60-Day Moving Average] On April 23, SMM reported: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,959/mt. During the Asian session, LME lead was in the doldrums, testing the $1,950/mt level several times and finding support at the 60-day moving average...

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Minutes: Macro Tensions Eased Slightly, but Lead Market Trading Remained Affected by Slack Supply and Demand] US President Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire, easing geopolitical tensions slightly. On the fundamentals side, lead ingot destocking outside China continued, but the LME lead backwardation structure was short-lived...

SMM, April 22: The most-traded SHFE lead 2606 contract opened at 16,735 yuan/mt during the session. SHFE lead prices dipped slightly at the beginning of the session, touching a low of 16,675 yuan/mt, before rebounding. From mid-session to the close, prices moved sideways within the range of 16,690-16,755 yuan/mt, ultimately settling at 16,730 yuan/mt, recording a bearish candlestick with a decline of 155 yuan/mt, or 0.92%. Recently, LME lead inventory continued destocking and spot premiums in Southeast Asia remained elevated, with the ex-China lead market fundamentals stronger than those in China. Meanwhile, the refined lead import window was close to shutting, tightening domestic lead ingot supply somewhat. However, downstream consumption was in the traditional off-season, and spot trading was sluggish. Under the pattern of weakness in both supply and demand, lead prices are expected to maintain a fluctuating trend. Data source disclaimer: Data other than publicly available information is derived by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, and is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.

[Zhongjin Lingnan's 2025 Annual Report Released] On April 22, Zhongjin Lingnan released its 2025 annual report. In 2025, the company's mining enterprises produced 253,800 mt of lead-zinc metal content in concentrates, down 4.21% YoY, and 10,255 mt of copper metal content in concentrates, down 14.23% YoY. The company's smelters produced 917,900 mt of copper, lead, and zinc products, up 5.33% YoY, including copper cathode (477,200 mt, up 10.54% YoY) and lead-zinc products (440,700 mt, up 0.22% YoY). In 2026, the company plans to produce 266,400 mt of lead-zinc metal content in concentrates, including lead metal content (73,200 mt) and zinc metal content (193,200 mt), as well as 442,800 mt of lead-zinc products, including lead ingots (124,100 mt) and zinc ingots and zinc products (318,700 mt)

[SMM Lead Morning Brief: Strong Fundamentals VS Weak Macro, LME Lead Pulled Back After Surging] SMM, April 21: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,968/mt. With lead ingot destocking outside China and rising spot premiums in Southeast Asia, LME lead continued to fluctuate upward throughout the day...

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Minutes: Complex Macro Landscape, Lead Prices More Closely Aligned with Fundamentals] Recently, geopolitical conflicts outside China have been intricate and complex, with wars and negotiations going back and forth, and risk-averse sentiment running high in the market. Meanwhile, LME lead inventory continued to decline...

[SMM Analysis] Why Has LME Lead Shifted Back to Backwardation for the First Time in Nearly a Year? SMM, April 21 — Since late March, London lead prices have stabilized after bottoming out, gradually holding above the $1,900/mt level and entering an upward trend, attempting to approach the $2,000/mt mark.

SMM, April 21: The most-traded SHFE lead 2605 contract opened at 16,800 yuan/mt intraday. From the early session to mid-session, SHFE lead trended higher in a fluctuating manner. During the afternoon session, prices moved sideways within the range of 16,825-16,855 yuan/mt. Prices edged up near the close, touching a high of 16,860 yuan/mt, and finally settled at 16,845 yuan/mt, forming a bullish candlestick with no lower shadow, up 115 yuan/mt or 0.69%. On the fundamentals, lead inventory drawdowns outside China combined with maintenance at some domestic secondary lead smelters provided support for lead prices, while inflows of imported lead, weakening lead-acid battery exports, and social inventory buildup of lead ingots capped the upside room for lead prices. Sentiment side, tensions in US-Iran geopolitical situation disturbed longer-term futures sentiment. SMM expects lead prices to maintain a fluctuating trend in the short term. Data source statement: Data other than publicly available information is derived from publicly available information, market communication, and SMM's internal database models, processed by SMM for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice.

[SMM Lead Morning Brief: LME Lead Inventory Destocking, LME Lead Hit a New High for Nearly One and a Half Months Again] SMM April 21: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,958/mt. The US dollar index pulled back after surging higher. Combined with continued destocking of lead ingots outside China, LME lead fluctuated upward throughout the day...

[SMM Lead Morning Brief: Diverging Lead Ingot Inventory Trends in and outside China, LME Lead Outperforming China] SMM April 20: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,961.5/mt. Boosted by the positive news of a Middle East ceasefire, base metals mostly rose. Meanwhile, with gradual destocking of lead ingots outside China, LME lead showed a trend of fluctuating upward......