Secondary lead markets in India were inactive as battery makers stayed away from purchasing raw material. Producers of secondary lead ingots hinted that prices are trending downwards as few bids were received.
Delhi, a major lead market which influences prices in the North and western India, reported few/no bids amid diminished demand. Battery makers are focused on retailing their inventories before resuming fresh production. The Davis Index for secondary lead ingot settled at Rs139,000/mt ($1,835/mt) ex-works Delhi producer down by Rs1,967/mt while the index for Mumbai settled flat at Rs139,500/mt ex-works producer from the prior Wednesday.
A major challenged faced by the lead scrap market is the lack of communication between local authorities regarding resumption of work. The whole supply chain involving lead recycling starting from lead scrap and going upstream to the supply of batteries is disrupted and chaotic amid the lockdown. Several market participants are yet to resume works due to lack of labour. Also delivery of shipment is difficult due to lack of trucks and truck drivers despite the relaxation of lockdown. In the coming weeks, more and more enterprises catering to the lead market would resume work and the hurdles in the supply chain will be overcome.
Prices of both secondary lead ingot and battery scrap have shown signs of a downward trend. The peak season for lead market concludes in July after a demand picks up for inverters and battery backups peak in summer months.
The Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) settled flat at Rs83,725/mt ex-works Mumbai consumer and Rs82,800/mt ex-works Delhi consumer, down by Rs1,333/mt on Wednesday as trades were negligible.
India’s primary lead producers reduced prices by Rs3,600/mt to approximately Rs145,900/mt on May 18 from Rs149,500/mt the prior week in line with the three-month official LME lead contract which settled at $1,650/mt on Friday down by $25/mt from the week prior.
($1 = Rs75.71)