Lead surplus shrinks in H1 as Chinese demand soars - ILZSG
08.22.07, 7:57 AM ET
forbes.com
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The global lead surplus more than halved in the first half of 2007 as strong demand growth from China outweighed a more modest increase in production, according to the latest monthly report of the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
The lead market recorded a production surplus of 24,000 tonnes in the first six months of 2007, against a surplus of 53,000 tonnes a year before, the ILZSG said.
Chinese demand for lead rose a massive 21 pct in the period, more than offsetting falling consumption in Japan, where demand was down 12.3 pct, and the US, where it dipped 7 pct. Chinese net imports of lead rose 29 pct, while its exports dipped by almost half.
Global lead production rose 2.2 pct in the first half to 4.125 mln tonnes, while European production climbed some 1.1 pct.
Lead prices have hit a series of fresh all-time highs this year after China imposed an export tax on lead and as a number of key producers of the metal, most notably Australia, reported production outages.
Prices peaked at an intraday high of 3,500 usd per tonne in July against 1,669 usd a tonne at the beginning of January.
Meanwhile the zinc market swung into surplus in the first half as global output soared, with China, Peru and Europe all significantly upping production in the period.
The market recorded an overall surplus of 31,000 tonnes in the period, against a 226,000 tonne deficit a year ago.
Overall worldwide zinc production rose to 5.96 mln tonnes in the period, up 9.8 pct from a year before. Global demand grew by a more modest 4.6 pct.
A tailing off of zinc demand in the United States, where consumption of the metal dipped by 9 pct, contributed to the overall surplus
jan.harvey@thomson.com |
