This year, LME3 month lead up more than 62%, and the price trend does not seem to look away soft signs. As the world's largest lead producer - China's smelting business, but not because the higher lead prices and profit.

The one hand, the upstream price of lead concentrate to follow the lead prices to rise simultaneously, and since June 1 this year, would impose export tariffs on exports to the original concentration of lead in domestic sales, so that smelting enterprises in difficult circumstances; another , China lead the lack of supply in the international market and further push up international prices of lead and lead ore prices to rise again. Insiders said that China's export tariffs is the cause of lead and lead ore price rise causes the price cycle. Lead prices rose

cycle

Since 2003, China had surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest lead producer. In 2006, China's refined lead production accounted for 34% of global production, up to 2.735 million tons, among which one-fifth is exported. Therefore, the international price of lead for China's export situation is extremely sensitive.

Listed companies Lingnan Leo Kwan, senior director of the Ministry of Commerce recently held the trade in lead and zinc Summit believes that the current supply of lead concentrate is still tight, short-term is difficult to solve the bottleneck of resources; and metal consumption is very strong annual increase of 15% -20%, due to production growth lagged behind the consumer, the future is unlikely to lead prices down.

He said the current global balance of lead metal is an unhealthy balance, its important reason is that 10% of China's export tariffs. China need to import large quantities of ore processed per year to output 70-80 million tons of lead; while China relies heavily on the global balance of lead export 40-50 million tons per year of lead ingots. And because 10% of export tariffs presence of lead, blocked the export of Chinese enterprises threshold. The lack of Chinese exports, the international lead prices will inevitably rise, lead prices have gone up. In accord with this is that an adequate supply of domestic lead, which led to loss of smelter, refinery and lead ore prices has forced price increases, which in turn lead to promote the domestic price surge. Obviously, due to export tariffs and the existence of an unhealthy balance between the market price is difficult to find a balance at home and abroad.

Smelting enterprises struggling

lead as the world's largest producer and exporter, China's smelting business but did not because of rising prices lead to benefit. Currently, lead pricing lies in the London Metal Exchange (LME), while the upper reaches of the price of lead concentrate from the LME lead price minus the processing fees are determined. Therefore, the domestic lead smelting business is most concerned about fees is not in their own hands, in fact, the domestic lead ore smelter processing fees from 2002 to 150 U.S. dollars / ton in 2006 fell to $ 30 / ton .

Squeezed as processing fees. The situation of the domestic refining business has been very difficult. Henan Lingbao Ling lead the new business manager of the company He Yonggang, said the current business production has been reduced to 40%. According to CBI statistics, in May, the overall domestic lead smelter operated at 67%, 85% lower than in 2005.

"Small plants are not raw materials, refining of lead is obviously at a loss, can only be cut, but once cut, the company's operating costs Xiabu Qu, thanks to more powerful", lead and zinc smelter in Liaoning Haicheng director Song Jie said, "It now appears, to buy the upstream development of mining resources have become the only way, the current raw materials, smelting industry is completely a seller's market, no resources will be difficult to survive."