Most lead grades jumped on the back of LME lead’s climb in a week from last Wednesday. Supply-side constraints continued to hamper production which also pushed prices higher for scrap and secondary lead ingots.
The official three-month LME lead ingot on Tuesday settled at $2,073.5/mt, up by $24/mt, or 1.17pc, from the previous week. This resulted in offers across India to be revised slightly upwards while no significant change occurred in the market in this period.
Demand was steady but expected to rise once the pandemic situation normalizes in India. Shortage of oxygen is not hampering lead industry, however, rising COVID-19 cases and related lockdowns might have an impact on the end-user demand.
Delhi
The weekly Davis Index for secondary lead ingot on Wednesday settled at Rs160,773/mt ($2,161/mt) ex-works producer, up by Rs195/mt driven by high offers from some participants. Most deals were heard at Rs161,000/mt. Lead batteries (drained) prices also rose to around Rs94,000-95,000/mt. The weekly Davis Index for the lead batteries (drained) on Wednesday settled at Rs94,288/mt del Delhi consumer, up by Rs63/mt.
The market for secondary lead ingot strengthened in terms of spreads which widened by 0.36pc from the prior week. Spreads for lead batteries (drained) index price narrowed by 0.18pc, depicting a strengthened Delhi market for the grade. The official LME contract gained 1.17pc.
Mumbai
The weekly Davis Index for secondary lead ingot in Mumbai on Wednesday settled at Rs154,575/mt ex-works producer, up by Rs2,092/mt from the preceding week as offers rose on shortage of secondary lead ingot and a hike in LME levels. Supply constraints has hit production and scrap segregation has also become difficult due to unavailability of labourers in Mumbai.
The weekly Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) on Wednesday settled at Rs91,150/mt del Mumbai consumer, up by Rs900/mt. Mumbai markets for lead grades strengthened in terms of spreads which widened by 1.58pc for secondary lead ingots and by 0.72pc for lead batteries (drained) compared to prior week spreads.
($1=Rs74.36)