Lead Ingot Price Trend and Forecast 2026-2027

China remained by far the priciest Lead Ingot market tracked, though it eased just above 2.2% in Q2 2026, to near USD 2,180.00/MT from about USD 2,230.00/MT in Q1, as widening losses at secondary lead smelters pressured the domestic benchmark lower. The global average moved from close to USD 2,025.00/MT down to about USD 2,025.00/MT over the same quarter, essentially flat, as China's pullback offset continued gains across South Korea, India, and the United States. Notably, this quarter's China story is really a secondary lead margin squeeze: scrap battery costs stayed elevated even as finished ingot prices softened, leaving smelters facing losses and holding back from selling, and the global average is likely to run in the USD 1,980 to 2,150/MT range through the second half of the year.

The Lead Ingot refers to refined lead cast into standardized ingots for delivery against futures contracts and industrial sale, produced through either primary smelting of lead ore concentrate or secondary smelting of recycled lead-acid battery scrap. China tracks pricing separately for primary lead ingot, at 99.994% purity, and secondary lead ingot, at 99.986% purity, with the spread between the two reflecting relative production economics. Secondary lead, recycled from spent batteries, has grown to represent a substantial share of total supply, making scrap battery raw material costs and recycler margins an increasingly important driver alongside the more traditional primary smelting and battery-demand factors that move the broader lead market.

Lead Ingot Price Forecast for 2026

The margin squeeze facing secondary lead smelters, where scrap battery costs have stayed elevated even as finished ingot prices softened, should continue shaping the China benchmark through H2 2026, while the other three markets tracked follow steadier upward paths tied to battery demand. This divergence between China and the rest of the market is likely to persist.

A further widening of secondary smelter losses, potentially forcing production cutbacks, could be what pushes the China benchmark back above this forecast as available supply tightens. A resolution of the scrap cost pressure, or renewed secondary lead output growth, could be what eases prices back toward the lower end instead.

For the Quarter Ending June 2026

Lead Ingot Prices Q2 2026:

• China: USD 2,180.00/MT
• South Korea: USD 1,970.00/MT
• India: USD 1,990.00/MT
• United States: USD 1,960.00/MT

Lead Ingot Prices in China

China stayed the priciest market by a wide margin, though the price eased from about USD 2,230.00/MT to near USD 2,180.00/MT, a decline of just above 2.2%. It was widening losses at secondary lead smelters, together with sluggish transactions during the seasonal off-period, that gave the market room to ease.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q2 2026 in China?

Secondary refined lead prices fell alongside the benchmark ingot price this quarter, and large-scale secondary lead enterprises reported meaningful per-ton losses, with small and medium-sized smelters facing even steeper losses. Finished secondary lead prices kept trending downward even as scrap battery raw material costs stayed elevated, and it is this margin squeeze that appears to explain the pullback, since smelters facing losses held prices firm and largely refused to sell, leaving the market with quotes but few actual deals.

Lead Ingot Prices in South Korea

The South Korean price eased from about USD 2,000.00/MT to near USD 1,970.00/MT, a decline of just above 1.5%. It was a similar margin squeeze affecting secondary lead recyclers, together with scrap battery costs staying elevated, that gave the market room to ease.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q2 2026 in South Korea?

South Korea's secondary lead recycling industry has faced the same cost pressure seen in China, where scrap battery raw material costs have stayed high even as finished secondary lead prices soften, and it is this squeeze on recycler margins that appears to explain the modest South Korean pullback this quarter.

Lead Ingot Prices in India

Ingot prices in India moved from about USD 1,950.00/MT to near USD 1,990.00/MT, a gain of just above 2.1%, the market holding its own even as the China benchmark pulled back this quarter.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q2 2026 in India?

Unlike China, India's recycling sector has not reported the same scale of secondary smelter losses, and it is this comparative stability, combined with regional benchmark prices firming, that let Indian ingot pricing keep climbing while its Chinese counterpart eased.

Lead Ingot Prices in United States

USD 1,920.00/MT gave way to near USD 1,960.00/MT this quarter, a gain of just above 2.1%, extending a quiet, unremarkable climb through the ingot benchmark tracked domestically.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q2 2026 in United States?

Nothing about this quarter stands out as unusual. Domestic battery plants kept ordering at their normal pace, the international benchmark drifted higher, and United States ingot pricing simply followed along, a contrast to the margin-driven swings playing out in the Chinese and South Korean secondary lead sector.

For the Quarter Ending March 2026

Lead Ingot Prices Q1 2026:

• China: USD 2,230.00/MT
• South Korea: USD 2,000.00/MT
• India: USD 1,950.00/MT
• United States: USD 1,920.00/MT

Lead Ingot Prices in China

The price climbed to close to USD 2,230.00/MT in Q1 2026, a rise of just above 3.7% from Q4 2025. It was the resumption of lead-acid battery production after the holiday period, lowering accumulated inventories, together with growth in secondary lead output, that drove the increase.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q1 2026 in China?

Demand from battery companies resuming production after the holiday period drew down lead ingot inventories that had accumulated during the break, and it was this inventory drawdown, combined with secondary lead output increasing month over month, that pushed the benchmark price back toward recent highs on the futures exchange.

Lead Ingot Prices in South Korea

The price reached close to USD 2,000.00/MT in Q1 2026, a rise of just above 2.6% from Q4 2025. It was steady demand from battery manufacturers, together with firming regional benchmark prices, that pushed the market higher.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q1 2026 in South Korea?

Regional benchmark prices firmed entering the year, and it was this pass-through, combined with steady demand from battery manufacturers, that drove the South Korean increase ahead of the margin pressure that followed.

Lead Ingot Prices in India

USD 1,950.00/MT was the reading for Q1 2026, up just above 2.6% from Q4 2025, as regional benchmark prices firmed heading into the new year.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q1 2026 in India?

Regional benchmark prices firmed as the quarter progressed, and India's ingot market, without the same secondary-smelter cost pressure building in China, simply tracked that broader firming rather than facing any local disruption of its own.

Lead Ingot Prices in United States

Q1 2026 closed at close to USD 1,920.00/MT, a rise of just above 2.7% from the prior quarter, with nothing more dramatic behind it than ordinary battery-plant restocking.

Why did the price of Lead Ingot change in Q1 2026 in United States?

Battery plants restocked at their usual pace, and the international benchmark ticked higher alongside them, so the United States ingot market moved in step with both rather than reacting to any single new development.

Quarterly Lead Ingot Price Trends

This market climbed steadily through 2025 before China's benchmark diverged from the rest of the market in 2026. Close to USD 1,833.00/MT in Q1 2025 rose to about USD 1,870.00/MT, near USD 1,905.00/MT, and close to USD 1,968.00/MT by Q4, before continuing to about USD 2,025.00/MT in Q1 2026 and holding near USD 2,025.00/MT in Q2. That is a rise of roughly 10.5% across the window, though the Q2 2026 move was essentially flat as China's pullback offset gains elsewhere.

What was Lead Ingot Price in 2025?

It was steady demand from battery manufacturing across every market tracked, meeting a China primary-secondary lead ingot spread that shifted with smelter maintenance schedules and secondary output growth, that drove the consistent 2025 climb. The global average opened near USD 1,833.00/MT in Q1 and climbed to close to USD 1,968.00/MT by Q4, a rise of just above 7.4% for the year, before China's margin squeeze introduced a genuine divergence in early 2026.

Lead Ingot Prices in China in 2025

The Chinese benchmark climbed from about USD 2,000.00/MT in Q1 2025 to near USD 2,150.00/MT by Q4, a rise of just above 7.5% for the year, holding the highest absolute cost among the four markets tracked throughout. It was steady demand from battery manufacturing, meeting a primary-secondary lead ingot spread that widened at times as smelter maintenance and secondary lead output growth pulled in different directions, that shaped the domestic benchmark through 2025.

Lead Ingot Prices in South Korea in 2025

The South Korean price climbed from about USD 1,820.00/MT in Q1 2025 to near USD 1,950.00/MT by Q4, a rise of just above 7.1% for the year. It was steady demand from the country's substantial secondary lead recycling and battery manufacturing sectors that drove the gradual climb through 2025.

Lead Ingot Prices in India in 2025

From about USD 1,770.00/MT in Q1 2025, the Indian ingot benchmark worked its way up to near USD 1,900.00/MT by Q4, a rise of just above 7.3% for the year, without any of the secondary-smelter margin pressure that has since become the defining feature of China's market.

Lead Ingot Prices in United States in 2025

The United States price climbed from about USD 1,740.00/MT in Q1 2025 to near USD 1,870.00/MT by Q4, a rise of just above 7.5% for the year. It was steady demand from battery manufacturing that drove the gradual climb through 2025.

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Expert Market Research: Your Source for Real-Time Lead Ingot Price Intelligence

The Lead Ingot market increasingly depends on secondary smelter economics, not just primary production and battery demand, so Expert Market Research tracks scrap battery raw material costs and recycler margins closely alongside primary-secondary spreads and battery manufacturing demand cycles across the four markets covered here. This is combined with trade flow data to build the forecasts. For Lead Ingot pricing data, custom analysis, or procurement strategy support, the team is glad to help.