Japan Pb Official Price Hits 8 Month High

Mitsubishi Materials announced on Tuesday the firm revised up official lead ingot price by 4,000 yen to 254,000 yen per tonne for December shipment, which marked the highest price in 8 months. The firm reflected steady lead price at London Metal Exchange. The monthly averaged price is 245,600 yen without any more revision.

Lead ingot price increased by US$ 73.50 to US$ 2,452 per tonne at settlement of LME on Monday from Friday, which increased for the first time in 4 trading days. The price at LME was US$ 50 higher than the level on December 10, on which Mitsubishi Materials previously revised the lead official price based. Telegraphic transfer selling rate was 84.73 yen per US dollar on Tuesday, which was 0.21 yen higher than the level on December 13.

Nonferrous metals price is firm at LME due to the flow of speculative funds. Lead fundamentals are relatively weak compared with copper and tin. However, the price continues increasing from late November.