India's zinc and lead prices inch up w-o-w amid primary player's price hike
...
India's zinc and lead markets experienced a marginal uptick in trade activities, resulting in a rise in prices by up to 1.1% w-o-w.
BigMint's assessment for Special High Grade (SHG) zinc ingots saw a rise of 1% to INR 229,500/t, exw-Delhi. The hike in the domestic price is primarily due to price adjustments by Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL). The offer price from the sellers-end hovers between INR 229,000-232,000/t, exw-Delhi. However, the bid is around INR 225,000-227,000/t.
Meanwhile, domestic remelted lead ingot prices gained 1.1% to INR 179,000/t, exw-Delhi. The gain in price was in line with the price hike made by the primary player for the week. HZL hiked lead prices by up to 3.5% w-o-w, impacting domestic prices.
The domestic zinc and lead market aligned with the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) market, which witnessed an increase of up to 2% w-o-w. Zinc prices on MCX stood at INR 227,000/t up by 2% from INR 223,000/t. Meanwhile, lead prices gained 1% to INR 183,000/t from INR 181,000/t from the previous week.
Turning to the imported zinc market, BigMint's assessment for Middle East-sourced zinc diecast (5%) stood at $1,910/t, CFR Mundra, noting a 1.8% (down $35/t) w-o-w drop. Despite sellers suggesting higher prices, with increases of $25-$40/t, buyers remained firm at $1,900-1,910/t.
Material specifically from the UAE might secure an increase in bid of $5-$7/t, as per industry sources. The London Metal Exchange (LME) recently experienced an uptick, and there are reports of a minor shortage in the imported segment, but the asking price remains high, leading to limited market activities.
The three-month future prices on LME for zinc have gone up by 5% w-o-w to $2,584/t from $2,466/t, almost up by $119/t amid decreasing inventories. The zinc stocks in LME registered warehouses stood at 195,575 t, down by 10,125 t w-o-w from 205,700 t.
Further more, India's zinc imports in December 2023, comprising semi-finish, scrap and finish products saw an increase of 15% m-o-m to 25,002 t from the previous month's 21,711 t. On a y-o-y basis, imports witnessed a rise of 7% from 23,446 t in December 2022.
In contrast, Lead imports comprising semi-finish, scrap and finish material in to India witnessed a marginal drop of 5% m-o-m in December 2023 to 52,332 t compared against 54,751 t in November 2023. Conversely, on a y-o-y basis, imports witnessed a surge of 22% from 42,762 t in December 2022.
