In the week ending November 4, prices of drained battery were flat to up in Mumbai and Delhi while for secondary lead ingot, prices were flat to down from the prior week. Markets weakened in terms of spread with LME lead increasing by $22/mt in a week and settling at $1,819/mt on Tuesday.
The weekly Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) in Mumbai Wednesday settled at Rs82,690/mt ($1,106.81/mt) del consumer, up by Rs523/mt on the back of slight demand improvement in the city. The weekly Index for lead batteries (drained) in Delhi Wednesday settled at Rs80,890/mt del consumer, up by Rs111/mt as demand from battery manufacturers grew.
The indexes for battery scrap in Delhi and Mumbai increased from the previous week but the markets for scrap weakened in terms of spread. For Mumbai’s index, spread widened by 1.16pc and for Delhi, by 1.44pc from the previous week. LME lead rose by 1.22pc or by $22/mt and closed at $1,819/mt in the same period.
Demand for secondary lead ingots remained stable which increased optimism among smelters. Prices of imported lead is quite close to the domestic rates in Delhi and Mumbai, while secondary lead ingot offers were dropped domestically by some smelters to increase market share.
The weekly Davis Index for secondary lead ingot in Delhi dipped by Rs1,029/mt and settled at Rs140,250/mt ex-works producer on Wednesday, and in Mumbai, was down by Rs677/mt at Rs140,490/mt ex-works producer.
Spreads for secondary lead ingots narrowed in Delhi and Mumbai. The index for Delhi slipped 0.73pc and the spread contracted by 3.41pc. LME lead in the same period rose by 1.22pc. Spreads in Mumbai contracted by 3.15pc from the previous week followed by a drop of 0.48pc in the index.
Improving automotive sales is a positive sign for lead industry and with India’s October sales up by almost 20pc, production is set to rise. Several battery manufacturers have shared with Davis Index that demand is healthy from auto manufacturers in November as well.
($1=Rs74.71)