Lead scrap and batteries prices moved within a narrow range, as the weekly Davis Index for whole undrained batteries was flat at 32¢/lb delivered US consumer on Wednesday.
Sales have softened in the batteries market, with many producers leveraging COVID-19-related suspensions and shutdowns to take maintenance outages early. Market participants don’t expect prices for batteries to fall below these levels in the near term.
The Davis Index for heavy soft lead increased by 1.9¢/lb to 62.5¢/lb delivered US consumer in anticipation of demand increasing upon automakers resuming production in early May. The index for hard lead, however, was flat at 58¢/lb delivered, as was the index for lead ingot premiums, which remained at 9¢/lb above the official three-month LME lead contract on Wednesday.
The official three-month LME lead contract closed Wednesday at $1,641/mt, down by $22/mt from $1,663/mt on April 22.