US lead scrap prices and lead ingot premiums climbed for a second week on increasing demand for non-battery scrap and a tight supply of primary metal.
The weekly Davis Index for heavy soft lead rose by 1.4¢/lb to 81.3¢/lb delivered US consumer on Wednesday, while hard lead climbed by 1.7¢/lb to 76.7¢/lb delivered.
The Davis Index lead ingot premium climbed for a fourth successive week to 12.8¢/lb on Wednesday, up by 0.3¢/lb from the prior week. Lead ingot supply remains extremely tight and it is now firmly a sellers’ market with offers ranging as high as 15-20¢/lb as demand rises.
The official three-month LME lead contract closed Wednesday at $2,094.50/mt up by $32/mt from $2,022/mt on Feb 3.
Still, lead battery prices remained unchanged this past week after supply increased with extremely cold winter conditions across the Northeast and Midwest.
The weekly Davis Index for whole undrained batteries was flat at 33¢/lb delivered US consumer as volumes in an already oversupplied market increased with plummeting temperatures across the country. Such weather conditions can increase demand but supply continues to outpace demand.