SHANGHAI, Apr. 15 (SMM) – LME lead prices started at USD 2,083/mt last Friday. The US retail sales for March were reported down 0.4%, and the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index fell from 78.6 to 72.3 in April, well below market expectation, greatly hurting market sentiment. Prices for silver, gold, and crude oil plunged 5%, 6%, and 3% as a result, and LME lead prices were driven to fall USD 42.3/mt to a low of USD 2,027.8/mt before closing at USD 2,043.5/mt. Trading volumes increased 47 lots to 4,265 lots, and holdings were up 323 lots to around 115,000 lots. LME lead inventories fell 800 mt to 259,375 mt.
The US dollar index remained weak around 82, while the COMEX silver for May delivery hit a low never seen since November 2010 of USD 25.70/oz, and finally closed at USD 26.33/oz, down USD 1.366/oz or 4.93%.
On Monday, the SHFE 1306 lead contract price is expected to be RMB 14,300-14,450/mt, while spot lead prices may be RMB 14,150-14,250/mt.
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