Japan Secondary Lead Alloy Price Rises to 250,000 yen/t Level

Japanese secondary lead refineries concluded the alloy price negotiation with the user of battery makers. The lead makers apparently succeeded to increase the selling price to around 250,000 yen per tonne as they required. The price of secondly lead alloy with antimony and other alloys was only 150,000 yen per tonne for battery makers while the lead bullion without alloys export price was more than 200,000 yen. The alloy makers sought the price should be 240,000-250,000 yen under lower profitability with higher waste battery market. Offshore buyers are still willing to buy Japanese lead bullion and waste battery at the market price depending on the lead ingot price at London Metal Exchange. Japanese battery makers, however, still purchase secondary lead alloy at fixed price. The battery makers finally accepted the hike to secure the materials. The secondary lead alloy price doubled from last year after the hikes including 20,000-50,000 yen hike in end of 2006. However, the LME lead price doubled to US$ 3,000 per tonne from the beginning of the year. Japanese official lead ingot price hit record 468,000 yen per tonne in July end compared with 230,000 yen in the beginning of the year. The alloy makers could increase the selling price more depending on the international market.