Lead hit a new high on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday, supported by a tight supply outlook combined with strong demand from battery makers, and analysts said it looked set for further gains. The metal has outperformed other LME contracts, and indeed most other assets, with a rise of 130 percent since the start of the year.
Lead for delivery in three months traded up to $3,890 per tonne on electronic dealing system Select, surpassing its previous peak of $3,885, which it struck on Tuesday. It then ended at $3,835 per tonne.
"The lead market continues to be characterised by supply-side constraints, concentrate tightness and low inventory levels in an environment of strong demand from Asia and this extreme tightness in the lead market looks unlikely to dissipate in the near term," Barclays Capital said in a report. Despite these high prices, users of the metal have little choice but to continue buying, analysts said. "There is a fair way to go before they will even look at making a change," BNP Paribas analyst David Thurtell said.
Users of steelmaking raw material nickel started reducing their consumption of the metal when it hit $50,000 per tonne, though such a move was mooted when nickel was cheaper. "It's difficult to see how you could make similar changes in the lead industry in the short term," he said. Nickel closed at $31,900, up from Wednesday's close of $31,495/31,500.
COPPER STEADY: Copper, often seen as a benchmark of the metals market, ended at $8,080 down $110 or 1.3 percent from Wednesday. It is up 27 percent since the start of the year and not far away from its record high of $8,800 set in May 2006. Metals prices at historical highs supported mining shares, with Vedanta up 5.8 percent, BHP Billiton up 4.4 percent and Kazakhmys up 4.3 percent.
Xstrata Copper, one of the world's largest copper miners, said it was concerned about demand in a slowing US economy but also saw phenomenal growth in India and China. "There's definitely a slowdown. It's a concern because we have a very big presence in North America," Bruce Anderson, who leads Xstrata Copper's sales and procurement, told Reuters.
But Anderson said 'fantastic' growth in India and China would support strong prices over the next 3-5 years. An eight-day walkout at Southern Copper operations in Peru ended on Wednesday after union leaders and company officials reached a pay deal.
Aluminium was up $4 at $2,470 after rallying 1.8 percent on Wednesday. Zinc was up $10 at $3,075 and tin closed at $15,900 down from Wednesday's $15,975/16,000.