Premiums for lead went down in the United States over the week to Tuesday March 3 and have shown mixed fortunes globally, with opportunistic buying in India at prices lower than those available on the London Metal Exchange, albeit at reduced premium levels.
Spot premiums for secondary lead in US drop to lowest since December 2016 Backwardation on LME lead contract persists Zinc premiums stable, though demand subdued.
US lead premium narrows further
Lackluster demand from end-consumers has put further pressure on the lead premium in the US over the past month, causing the premium range for lead 99.97% ingot to fall twice in the span of four weeks.
Fastmarkets assessed the
lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US, at $0.085-0.095 per lb on March 3, falling by half-a-cent from $0.09-0.10 per lb last week.
This was the lowest level for the premium since Fastmarkets assessed secondary lead premiums in the US at $0.065-0.075 per lb in December 2016.
The premium range had narrowed to $0.09-0.10 per lb on February 11 from $0.09-0.105 per lb the previous week.
Fastmarkets' assessment of...