It seems that lead is about to completely disappear from the surface of the Earth, with one caveat : recycling manages to meet half of current demand. Specialists even claim that lead is living its last days and will disappear within a maximum of 15 years.
This appears to be confirmed insofar as no lead mine has been discovered over the past two decades, and this is likely to harm investors. American, German and Chinese deposits are struggling to supply importing countries.
What is the current state of lead recycling ?
Despite the fact that lead is listed among the elements most dangerous to humans, due to its high content of toxic elements and carcinogenic elements, industrial demand for lead continues to rise. Supply is struggling to meet demand from lead-importing countries, which is not news for investors. This demand is currently being filled by recycling lead from batteries.
It must be acknowledged that recycling will not be eternally effective. One fine day, battery lead will no longer be good enough to be recycled yet again. Food for thought!
What is the price of lead ?
The origins of the decline in global lead production date back to 2003. Indeed, it was from that year that global lead production experienced a sharp drop, even though demand continued to increase.
In the last decade, demand from emerging countries has almost quadrupled in importance, which proves that the market is still promising.
The price of lead has always followed a speculative trajectory, and the figures bear this out. Currently, a tonne of lead is trading at $2,000, whereas in 2007 this price could hardly surpass the $400 mark.
Despite the decline in the extraction regime, demand continues to grow. In 10 years, imports of lead from emerging countries have almost quadrupled in importance. The market would therefore be very promising if we do not witness a depletion of lead stocks on a global scale. The historical track record of the lead price shows that lead was a material of the future. To purchase a tonne of lead, you would have to pay around $2,000.
How to get involved in the lead market ?
You can invest in lead in different ways. The first is recycling. There is no need to be a professional to know the processes of lead recycling. The second includes futures contracts and options provided by the LME. If you want to invest, become one of the beneficiaries of the millions of futures offered by this exchange.
Alarm over forecasts for this market
Investors and analysts remain confident about the future of lead. As long as lead batteries are recycled, one can hope that the market will still manage to survive for a few years. The indicators are clear on this point; further increases are to be expected in the coming months. As soon as China resumes its imports, the price of lead will rise and stabilize once and for all.
Lead has a bright future ahead of it. It should be noted that this metal is the main component of many medical devices. Nuclear industries are also highly dependent on it. Since these sectors are strong, the lead market is as well, logically. We should soon see an increase in demand from importing countries.
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