Lead scrap and ingot prices have continued their weekly run since early August. Scrap prices in both Mumbai and Delhi rose on Wednesday from the prior week. Domestic markets strengthened in terms of spreads across grades on Wednesday.
The official three-month LME lead on Tuesday settled at $2,284/mt, down by $29/mt or 1.25pc from a week ago, however, steady, and healthy deals secured across value chains boosted domestic scrap prices.
The weekly Davis Index for secondary lead ingot for Mumbai settled at Rs172,333/mt ($2,322/mt) ex-works Mumbai producer, up by Rs2,833/mt. Domestic demand supported the price rise. The Davis Index for secondary lead ingot on Wednesday for Delhi settled at Rs174,500/mt ex-works producer, up by Rs1,000/mt from the prior week.
Battery scrap prices also gained over the week in both Delhi and Mumbai as consumption from secondary lead ingot producers remained firm. The Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) in Delhi settled at Rs103,740/mt del consumer, up by Rs2,700/mt driven by higher demands from smelters. Similarly, the index for lead batteries (drained) for Mumbai settled at Rs103,150/mt del Mumbai consumer, up by Rs3,379/mt, the index gained due to steady demand in the city.
Markets strengthened in terms of spreads over the week due to improvement in deals in both Delhi and Mumbai. Demand from the infrastructure and telecom sectors led to healthy demand from battery manufacturers, while demand from the auto sector remained limited.
($1=Rs74.21)