Electrolytic Lead Market Price in Strong Tone

The market price of electrolytic lead ingot keeps flat with potential increase at around 358-361 yen per kilogram in Osaka to reflect the strong tone in overseas lead market.Lead settlement price at London Metal Exchange surged by US$ 77 to US$ 2,857 per tonne on Wednesday from Tuesday. LME lead settlement continued soaring up for 4 trading days and revised record high for 3 days in a row. The upsurge of LME lead price was accelerated after mid June, which upped by 66% from the beginning of this year.Japanese official lead ingot price for domestic shipment is likely to increase by more than 25,000 yen per tonne in the next revision to reflect LME lead market condition.Traders suppose Chinese lead production is recently decreasing and world lead supply may tighten. Other supporting factors have faded out such as the export stop of lead ore in Australia and the export decrease in China due to putting off tariffs on its lead export.In Japan electrolytic lead supply has kept lack for recent several years due to the outflow of lead battery scrap and the less production of secondary lead ingot. Chinese government put 10% tariff on its electrolytic lead export. Japanese trader source said they cannot purchase electrolytic lead ingot from China because the price became too high. Domestic supply is expected to become even tighter toward summer.