Author: Paul Ploumis
19 May 2015 Last updated at 03:26:18 GMT
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) has released the preliminary data for world lead supply and demand during the first quarter of 2015. The provisional data indicates that the lead mine supply has marginally declined by almost 0.9% year-on-year during the initial three month period of the year.
According to ILZSG, the world supply of refined lead metal exceeded demand by 11kt during the first quarter of the year. The total reported stock levels dropped by 10 kt during the period. Meantime, LME stock levels rose during Jan-Mar ’15.
The overall lead mine supply during Q1 2015 totaled 1.146 million tons, in comparison with 1.156 million tons during Q1 last year. The falling mine output from Australia has contributed to the 0.9% year-on-year decline in global lead mine supply. On the other hand, the mine supply from Peru and the US increased during the quarter.
The global refined lead metal production declined by 2.3% during Q1 this year. This was primarily on account of lowered production from China and disruption of operations at La Oroya plant in Peru during the month of June last year.
The global demand for refined lead metal witnessed a decline of 2.7% during the quarter. The apparent usage of refined metal by China and the US fell by 4.6% and 6.2% respectively. The apparent lead usage by the European region too dropped by 2.5%.
ILZSG statistics indicate that the lead mine supply during the month of March alone totaled 379,300 tonnes. The global refined lead metal production during the month totaled 859,100 tonnes. The apparent lead usage totaled 854,600 tonnes during March this year.
