The weekly Davis Index for US whole undrained lead batteries increased by a penny to 38¢/lb on Wednesday, as base metals stabilized after steep price declines last week.
A winter storm is expected across most of the Midwest and parts of the east coast, likely concluding the mild winter weather cycle that has impacted battery sales in 2020. However, demand remains soft and market participants don’t expect a big surge in sales this late in the season.
Lead scrap prices rose by around 1-2¢/lb with the Davis Index for soft lead increasing by 2¢ to 74¢/lb, and the Index for mixed hard lead rising by a penny to 69¢/lb from with last week.
However, lead ingot premiums were unchanged with the Davis Index for the grade flat at 10¢/lb, as LME prices remain soft. The three-month LME lead contract ended Wednesday at 1,835/mt, down $46/mt from $1,881/mt on Jan 29.