While spent lead-acid battery and cable lead prices in the United States slipped amid a decline in London Metal Exchange prices and softening demand, market participants shared mixed outlooks, with some anticipating steadiness and others wary of further price declines.
Fastmarkets AMM's price assessments of whole lead-acid batteries and cable lead delivered to smelters both fell by $1 per hundredweight, dropping to $33-35 per cwt and $79-81 per cwt, respectively, on Tuesday May 7."I certainly didn't expect this type of retreat in lead values; it's been significant. I hear all these complaints about scrap being tight," one buyer source said. "We are currently working towards a large inventory of scrap, so we aren't in the market very heavy right now," one battery buyer said. "I heard that the price was coming down some, and so I don't think it's a supply issue,...