Japan Official Lead Price Drops Down by 40,000 Yen/t

Mitsubishi Materials announced on Friday the firm revised down the official lead ingot price by 40,000 yen to 282,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in May. The latest price became lower than 300,000 yen for the first time since May 2007 to reflect the decline of overseas lead market. The monthly average would be 290,000 yen without any more revision within May.Lead settlement price at London Metal Exchange continued decreasing by US$ 70.5 to US$ 2,410.5 per tonne on 8 May from the previous day. LME lead settlement downed by 10% from US$ 2,680.5 on 30 April along which Mitsubishi Materials previously announced the official ingot price on 1 May. The telegraphic transfer selling rate was 104.82 yen per US dollar on Friday, almost unchanged from 1 May.Global lead supply became easier when the demand season for repairing batteries ceased in the northern hemisphere including Japan and South American lead producers expanded their outputs. LME lead price is weakening to reflect the easy supply. LME lead inventory recently hit the bottom at 44,875 tonnes on 22 February and turned to the increasing trend. The current inventory is 58,000 tonnes, increasing by 30% in two and a half months.