Lead prices are sluggish, and scrap battery remains in a weak stalemate.

[Vietnam Lead Market Updates] It is understood that lead demand in the Vietnam market has remained robust, and spot premiums for lead ingots have generally been on an upward trend since the beginning of this year. In July, although LME lead prices continued to consolidate on a subdued note, some suppliers further raised their premium quotes. Currently, the highest CIF Vietnam premium quotation for lead ingots (Pb≥99.99%) stands at $210/mt. However, lead-acid battery enterprises generally indicated that such quotes were hard to accept, and no deals have been heard in the market yet. Additionally, according to SMM’s latest quotes, CIF premiums for Vietnamese primary lead (Pb 99.99%-99.995%) are reported at $170-205/mt.

[Vietnam Lead Market Update] Since the beginning of this year, new lead-acid battery capacity in Vietnam has been successively commissioned. Coupled with the ongoing policy promoting the switch from motorcycles to e-bikes and rising oil prices, local demand for lead-acid batteries used in e-bikes and other applications has grown rapidly, and production lines at battery producers are generally running at full capacity. Some producers say their lead consumption has doubled compared to the same period last year, with a few enterprises even reaching three times last year’s level.