February 23, 2023: Global demand for refined lead metal exceeded supply by 99 kilotonnes in 2022, according to latest data published on February 22 by the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG).
The Lisbon-based study group said inventories reported by the London Metal Exchange (LME), Shanghai Futures Exchange, producers, merchants and consumers fell by 84kt and totalled 314kt at the end of last year.
World lead mine supply fell by 1.5% in 2022 with reductions in Australia, China, Greece, Peru and the US partially balanced by a rise in South Africa.
Global output of refined lead metal was down 0.7%, despite rises in China, India, Japan and Taiwan — where a new secondary smelter was commissioned in October, the ILZSG said.
This was primarily a consequence of reductions in Australia, South Korea, Turkey the US and Europe, where production fell in a number of countries including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Russia, Ukraine and the UK.
Production of refined lead metal from recycled raw material accounted for 65.5% of global production in 2022 compared to 65.1% in 2021.
Meanwhile, global demand for refined lead metal rose by a modest 0.5%, with increases in China, India, Japan and the US partially offset by reductions in Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.
In Europe, rises in the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany and Greece were balanced by decreases in Austria, Poland, Spain, Russia and Ukraine, which the study group said resulted in a similar level of usage to 2021.
Chinese imports of lead contained in lead concentrates fell by 15% in 2022 and amounted to 580kt. Net exports of refined lead metal rose by 49% to total 114kt.
According to the ILZSG, the average LME cash settlement price in 2022, at $2,150, was 2.5% lower than that in 2021. The highest cash settlement price of $2,513 was recorded on March 7 and the lowest of $1,754 on September 27.
In December, ILZSH market research and statistics director Joao Jorge told the International Conference on Lead and Lead Batteries in New Delhi that the study group believed there would be no major change in trends in the lead market in the short to medium term, mainly because of lead’s “still-dominant position in the automotive sector”.
However, Jorge said supplies of lithium, cobalt and nickel were unlikely to be available in quantities needed to meet the anticipated escalation of global demand for battery metals over the next few years.
