The weekly Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) settled at Rs84,085/mt del Delhi consumer, up by Rs697/mt. Smelters booked scrap to avoid production disruption fearing a total lockdown in the coming days.
The Davis Index for lead batteries (drained) settled at Rs83,975/mt del Mumbai consumer, up by Rs858/mt on Wednesday. Lead scrap prices broke their downtrend since last week of February as smelters in Mumbai stocked scrap. Prices are, however, unlikely to sustain as this panic buying phase will subside soon in an otherwise slow lead market.
Drained battery scrap buyers in Mumbai faced difficulties in transportation of goods amid increased freight due to the COVID-19 spread. A few battery scrap sellers have even shut shop temporarily. The Davis Index for secondary lead ingot settled at Rs 139,100/mt ex-works Mumbai producer, up by Rs150/mt and the index for secondary lead ingot settled at Rs141,000/mt ex-works Delhi consumer, up by Rs1,675/mt on Wednesday from the prior week.
Though markets have not come to a complete standstill, logistics have been affected and freight has gone up affecting the supply of secondary lead ingots in the market. This has pushed its prices up.
The three-month LME lead contract has fallen by $127/mt and settled at $1,710/mt on Tuesday from $1,837/mt the prior week.
($1=74.7)