Chinese lead ingot market warms up
2013-08-12 10:14:11 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 12 Aug 13 – Stimulated by China’s strong import & export data in July, all the base metals were on strong footing last Friday. Meanwhile, it’s rumored that SHFE will overhaul lead contract to increase trading volume next month, stimulating the sentiment among lead market participants. Lead ingot prices increased by about RMB100-150/t (USD16-24/t) to RMB13,950-14,200/t (USD2,250-2,290/t) in the Shanghai spot market. With buyers returning to the market, the trading warmed up gradually.
A source from a Shanghai-based trading company reported that the trading appeared somewhat dull in early last week when the lead ingot prices just began recovering, but the trading turned bullish late last week. “With more buyers returning to the market to place orders, the trading is very active on Friday,” said the source. “Meanwhile, the lead ingot supply is a bit tight in the market, as most lead smelters cut production in the past months.”
The trader raised lead ingot prices by RMB150/t (USD24/t) to RMB14,180/t (USD2,287/t) on Friday, and sold about 500-600t of the metal. “We received many inquiries this week, indicating the bullish market,” said the source.
The trader holds about 2,000t of lead ingot on hand, down from about 3,000t in July.
The source predicted that the lead ingot prices may keep firmly above RMB14,000/t (USD2,258/t) next week due to the strong fundamentals of the market.
A source from a Liaoning-based lead smelter reported that the lead ingot prices increased by about RMB100-150/t (USD16-24/t) to about RMB14,000-14,150/t (USD2,258-2,282/t) last Friday, but they did not sell the metal on the spot market, as they were fulfilling a contract signed days ago and did not hold lead ingot in stock.
The source said that the inquiries they received increased a lot last week, indicating the strong demand and the tight supply of the metal. “If we have enough lead ingot inventory, we could sell about 1,000t of lead ingot on Friday,” said the source.
However, the source worried that the lead ingot prices may give back some gains next week as the lead prices rose too fast these days.
The smelter is operating with about 4,000t of lead ingot per month, based on its full capacity of 100,000tpy.
Lead Ingot 99.994%min EXW China
Unit:RMB/mt
China primary lead producers' inventory to production ratio statistics by province by month
Unit: %
