Lead scrap prices in Mumbai rose more than 1pc in a week while prices in Delhi were flat to up on Wednesday from the prior week. Prices in both the cities rose despite a fall in LME lead. The three-month official LME lead contract Tuesday settled at $2,040/mt down by $33.5/mt from the previous week.
The Davis Index for secondary lead ingot in Mumbai Wednesday gained Rs2,111/mt ($28.68/mt) and settled at Rs147,111/mt ex-works producer from a week prior on the back of robust demand for the ingots in the city. Smelters refused to lower offers for secondary lead ingots in line with slip in LME backed up amid strong demand from battery-manufacturers. The Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) Wednesday settled higher by Rs1,056/mt to Rs86,889/mt del Mumbai consumer on the back of better trades due to higher demand from smelters.
Markets for lead scrap and ingot in Mumbai strengthened in terms of spread. The Mumbai index for lead batteries drained rose by 1.23pc while spreads for the index narrowed by 1.63pc compared to the previous week. Spreads for secondary lead ingot Index for Mumbai narrowed by 0.98pc while the index rose by 0.11pc from the previous week.
The Davis Index for secondary lead ingot in Delhi Wednesday settled flat at Rs147,333/mt ex-works producer from the previous week as some market participants bid under Rs146,000/mt as LME was quite volatile but most trades were concluded at over Rs147,000/mt. The Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) in Delhi settled at Rs84,885/mt, up by Rs97/mt from the previous week.
The Delhi markets for both secondary lead ingots and batteries’ scrap strengthened in terms of spreads. Delhi’s index for secondary lead ingot was flat from the prior week but spreads for the index widened by 1.59pc. The index for Delhi’s battery scrap is up 0.11pc while the spreads narrowed by 0.98pc from the preceding week.
Auto sales in November were lower compared to October, while companies had increased production to meet festive demand. Inventory levels are expected to be high following relatively weak sales in November. Also, auto production could be hampered amid tight supply of semiconductors used in the manufacture of auto electronics. A lack of even a single component can potentially hold production at many companies. This could affect consumption of lead-acid batteries till the shortage is resolved.
($1=Rs73.56)