Japan Official Lead Price Hits Yearly Lowest at 266,000 Yen/t

Mitsubishi Materials announced on Wednesday the firm revised down the official lead ingot price by 12,000 yen to 266,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in May. The latest price dropped down by 33% from the recent peak in February and hit the yearly lowest to reflect the decline of overseas lead market. The monthly average would be 282,800 yen without any more revision within May.Lead spot price at London Metal Exchange continued decreasing to US$ 2,137 per tonne at settlement on 20 May, down by US$ 125 from the previous day. LME lead settlement downed by 20% within May due to the increase of LME lead inventory. Speculative purchasing is weakening when the demand season for lead batteries has ended in the northern hemisphere.LME lead price stayed at above US$ 3,000 during February-March. Japanese official lead price hit the yearly highest at 398,000 yen on 25 February. However, the domestic official price dropped down to below 300,000 yen in May to reflect the decline of LME lead price and the underlying trend of stronger yen against US dollar.