Japanese Lead Producers Offer Refining Charge Hike to Battery Makers

Japanese lead ingot producers are in price negotiations with major battery makers to improve refining charges in April. Smelters and refineries are offering the charge hike when material cost is surging for used automotive lead batteries, the main material for lead ingot. Battery makers are increasing lead import and unwilling to approve the hike. The negotiations will be closed in late March.

Domestic market price of used automotive lead battery has surged since the export price to South Korea has risen. The domestic price decreased to around 60 yen per kilogram from previous 70 yen or more when lead market price dropped at London Metal Exchange in last summer. Despite of the price down, the material cost is still higher than profitable line for Japanese lead smelters and refineries.

One concerned source said smelters and refineries are offering the charge hike by 2-3 yen per kg. Especially middle- and small-class refineries are suffering high material cost. Several refineries reduce operating rate below 50% due to expensive material. Large smelters cannot increase ingot production fully, too.

Japanese major battery makers have positively increased procurement of imported lead ingot since last year. Some of them show unwillingness against the wide-range hike of refining charges, appealing the price gap between domestic and imported lead ingots.

Meanwhile, it seems that imported ingots are not so lower than domestic ingots since premiums are relatively high on imported lead from Canada, Australia and the UK. Peru was the largest lead exporter to Japan until 2008 but there is little lead export from Peru in recent years.