'Lead: The best pick among base metals'
Metal Recycling News | 2012-09-29 03:32:36
Lead is currently performing best of all the base metals, since the rally began in mid-August, lead has surged in price by nearly 27% and is at $2,300 per ton levels
By Paul Ploumis
LONDON (Scrap Monster): Lead is currently performing best of all the base metals, since the rally began in mid-August, lead has surged in price by nearly 27% and is at $2,300 per ton levels, said Commerzbank, the second largest German bank after Deutsche Bank, said in a commodity research note.
According to the German bank, lead is trading close to an 8-month high. Unlike other metals, lead has not seen profit-taking in the past few days.
The increase in price is accompanied by a significant tightening of the fundamental situation: the International Lead and Zinc Study Group recently reported that the supply surplus on the global lead market had diminished year-on-year from 137 thousand to 49 thousand tons in the first seven months of the year.
In addition, LME lead stocks have fallen sharply in recent months and at around 270 thousand tons are currently at their lowest level for 20 months.
“Even if there is much to suggest further rises in lead prices, we regard the latest price hike as exaggerated and believe there is a short-term risk of profit-taking,” Commerezbank concluded.
