The price of lead is down 23% year-on-year and its weak long-term outlook means it will continue to underperform going into 2021, Tom Mulqueen, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading, said.
Speaking at this year's virtual LME Week, Mulqueen said the high level of London Metal Exchange stocks and a lack of strong speculative support are also pressuring the lead price."Long-term, lead lacks the buzz factor like other metals. It is being supported by pent-up battery demand, but it is lacking a longer-term demand narrative," Mulqueen said. "It is reflecting its weaker fundamentals... the lead price continues to underperform moving into 2021."The LME three-month lead price is currently trading at $1,765 per tonne, 23% lower than this time last year when the price was $2,186 per tonne. "The lead price has correlated pretty well with the other base metals this year and this is because of the strong influence of macro...