World refined lead metal supply closely balanced with demand in 2014
Feb 27, 2015 05:34 GMT Source:Scrap Monster
Tags: global lead demand, refined lead, ILZSG, lead concentrate, lead price, lead mine supply, surplus, deficit
Author: Paul Ploumis26 Feb 2015 Last updated at 07:25:34 GMT
SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics published by the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) indicates that global refined lead market ended in marginal deficit of 5,000 tons during 2014. The total reported lead inventories declined by 26,000 tons during the same period to total 580 kt at the year end.
The lead mine production in Australia, Peru, Sweden and the United States increased during the year. But they were just not adequate to compensate for the decline in production in other countries such as Bolivia, Canada, South Africa, Turkey and China. The overall global lead mine production reduced by 2.2% when compared with 2013. Meantime, the Chinese lead mine production fell 4.8% over the year.
The world lead mine output during the year totaled 5.314 million tons as against 5.435 million tons during 2013.
The refined lead metal production during the year totaled 11.274 million tons, 1.4% higher when compared with the 11.122 million tons output during 2013. The refined lead metal production surged higher in China, India, Italy, Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea, whereas it declined sharply in Peru and the US. The closure of operations at La Oroya and Herculaneum led to reduced refined lead metal supply.
The global demand for refined lead metal increased by 1.4% to 11.279 million tons during 2014. The European apparent usage increased by 3.1%. China reported a demand rise of 2% during the year. The apparent consumption in the US contracted by 1.5%.
