SMM, January 3:
Last week, heavy pollution weather affected the Anhui and Shandong regions, leading to production cuts or suspensions at local secondary lead smelters. This resulted in slow consumption of raw material inventory, weak demand for battery scrap procurement, and stable quotations. From last Thursday to Saturday, secondary lead smelters in Shandong and Anhui gradually resumed production. Additionally, a large secondary lead smelter in Anhui, which had been idle for a long time, commissioned production this week. Moving forward, we need to monitor changes in lead prices and the impact of raw material inventory consumption on battery scrap prices. As of January 3, 2025, the mainstream tax-inclusive procurement price for EV battery scrap ranged from 9,900-10,100 yuan/mt.
Entering January, with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching, spot market trading activity declined. Compared to the previous undersupply of secondary crude lead, suppliers recently reported resistance in transactions, with limited downstream purchases. As of January 3, 2025, the mainstream tax-exclusive ex-factory price for secondary crude lead was 15,800-15,950 yuan/mt.
