Japanese Official Lead Ingot Price Hits Record Again

Mitsubishi Materials announced on Monday the firm raised the official lead ingot price by 24,000 yen to 395,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in July. The price exceeded the record marked on July 2 thanks to the stability of overseas lead market and weaker yen against US dollar. The monthly average became to 389,300 yen.Lead spot price at London Metal Exchange downed by US$ 12 to US$ 2,846 per tonne at settlement on Friday from Thursday, while the price recovered the highest level at above US$ 2,850 in afternoon trading of the same day. Speculative purchasing is emerging when world lead metal supply maintains tight against strong demand. The upsurge of LME copper price is another supporting factor.Telegraphic transfer selling rate was 124.51 yen per US dollar on Monday, the yearly cheapest level. The official lead ingot price was revised down by 6% on Monday to reflect weaker yen. The revision range was the secondly widest following 8.8% or 29,000 yen per tonne on June 1, 2007. Domestic lead ingot price surged by about 60% from the beginning of this year.