US weekly lead scrap prices increased by around 2-7¢/lb on Wednesday on rising LME Lead prices and strong exports of the material.
The official three-month LME Lead contract increased by $18/mt from May 12 to close at $2,201.50/mt today.
Exports are pushing up prices for lead scrap as more end consumers purchase this material to fulfill their needs due to a continuing dearth of primary lead in the market. The weekly Davis Index for heavy soft lead increased by 1.8¢/lb to 83¢/lb delivered US consumer, while hard lead soared by 7.8¢/lb to 84¢/lb delivered on increased demand for this material.
Lead ingot premium also increased by 2¢/lb to 17.6¢/lb delivered US consumer due to the ongoing shortage of refined lead.
Supply continues to outpace demand in the lead batteries market because of which, the index for whole undrained batteries decreased by 0.3¢/lb to 31.2¢/lb delivered US consumer on Wednesday.