23.05.2016 - Sluggish Chinese demand, new battery tax weighs on lead
Lead, the worst performing industrial metal on the London Metal Exchange this year, is set to stay under pressure due to weak demand in China, where a new tax has been slapped on lead-acid batteries and authorities are cracking down on electric-bikes. Lead depends on lead-acid batteries for about 80 percent of demand in top consumer China. The global lead market saw its surplus more than double in the first quarter to 29,000 tonnes from 13,000 tonnes in the same period last year, data showed this week. "This year demand looks more worrying. And that's the key reason we remain relatively bearish towards lead's price outlook," said analyst Wenyu Yao at consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS...............................................Full Article: Source
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