Prices of lead scrap grades were flat to down in Mumbai and flat to up in Delhi on Wednesday from the prior week. Mumbai-based smelters are partially open post Diwali while trades in Delhi were relatively higher than in Mumbai.
The Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) in Mumbai Wednesday settled at Rs81,990/mt ($1,104.39/mt) del consumer down by Rs625/mt from the preceding week. Industries remained closed on the occasion of Diwali which led to slow market movements this week. The Davis Index for secondary lead ingot in Mumbai fell by Rs166/mt and settled at Rs140,667/mt ex-works producer from a week ago.
In Mumbai, smelters were in holiday mood. Every year most of them shut their businesses for a week for Diwali celebration. Normal trading is expected to resume from Friday, said market participants. Low trades amid few offers for both scrap and ingots were heard during the week. Smelters lowered offers to attract higher bookings as raw material prices also dipped last week. Secondary lead ingot prices have trended down since September first week, when prices were at Rs149,000-149,500/mt ex-works Mumbai.
The market for lead scrap and ingot in Mumbai weakened in terms of spreads on Wednesday from the previous week because official LME lead three-month contract rose by 4.66pc or $85/mt to $1,921.5/mt on Tuesday from the previous week. The index for lead battery scrap on Wednesday dipped by 0.76pc from the prior weak and spreads widened by 3.14pc. Similarly, the index for secondary lead ingot in Mumbai fell by 0.12pc but spreads narrowed by 4.17pc from the previous week.
The Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) in Delhi Wednesday settled at Rs81,083/mt del consumer, up by Rs333/mt from a week ago and the weekly index for secondary lead ingot in Delhi rose by Rs583/mt to settle at Rs140,833/mt ex-works producer from the week prior. Prices of secondary lead ingot in Delhi are on a downtrend since mid-October when prices were around Rs144,500/mt ex-works. Prices movement is gradually slowing in the cities. Market participants fear that pent-up demand may be exhausting and it may take time for fresh demand increase trades.
Traders in Delhi were active on Wednesday as major smelters in the region did not halt operations. Several small scale smelters are likely to begin production next week. Prices rose slightly on the back of better-than-expected demand from battery manufacturers in Delhi. Markets weakened in Delhi in terms of spread despite a rise in indexes.
The index for lead batteries (drained) was flat to up by 0.41pc but spreads widened by 2.40pc from the previous week. The spread for secondary lead ingot index in Delhi rose marginally by 0.42pc but spreads contracted by 4.17pc from the previous week. LME rose sharply by almost 5pc from the preceding week.
($1=Rs74.24)