Lead dropped again by 10.8 percent on Thursday and even more with $24 down to $1,336 on Friday as expected car battery demand lessens. Traders were expecting more stocks to hit warehouses if consumption patterns from the automotive and construction industries continued to falter due to the economic downturn. Read the full article here.
Lead dropped $130 or 7.9% to $1,510 a ton. After 5 years of deficits the market will show a supply surplus of 49,000 tons. Standard Bank expects an average lead price of $1,890 a ton in 2009 and $1,740 a ton in 2010. Lead is mostly used in car batteries and “current forecasts suggest there [...]
Concern that China may stop production of their lead smelters as concentrate supply falls caused an increase in lead prices. China is the world’s biggest producer of lead. Falling inventories also provided the metal support, analysts said. Lead inventories on the LME fell 1,350 tonnes to 69,175 tonnes on Friday. Find the article here. [...]
A rise of cancelled warrants and dropping inventories gave lead a boost of more than 2 percent. Inventories decreased to 71,925 tonnes with a drop of 1,175 tonnes on the LME. Lead cancelled warrants on Thursday on the LME stood at 11 percent of the total stocks. Cancelled warrants indicate demand in the physical market [...]
Lead’s two week low is partially due to the strength of the dollar although its decline is surprising given declining inventories. Nickel, zinc and lead futures also fell on Friday as the rising dollar weighed on the entire complex, analysts said. Lead futures also fell tracking the complex and on a strong dollar, despite the [...]
As inventories drop lead has hit a two-week high. Lead shifted from $1,855 at close on Tuesday to a last quote of $1,925/1,930. Prices for zinc, lead and nickel all rebounded, after declining on Tuesday, as inventories fell in London Metal Exchange warehouses and as the dollar eased from its 2008 highs against a basket [...]
Thirteen of China’s larger zinc and lead smelters will not be cutting their output despite 27 other Chinese smelters agreeing to cut their output by 10 percent from July through September. The producers include Hunan Zhuye Torch Metals Co Ltd (SHA 600961), Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co Ltd (SZA 000060) and Yunnan Chihong [...]
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