Unloved lead gets to join the Bloomberg commodity A-list

By Andy Home

2022.11.04

Lead will become the 24th commodity to be included in the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), joining its London Metal Exchange (LME) peers aluminum, copper, nickel, and zinc.

The London three-month lead price jumped almost 10% to $2,019.50 per tonne on Friday’s news, although it’s since pared its gains to a current $1,965.The reaction is understandable if a little premature. Although lead will have only a 0.936% weighting in the index, the lowest of any of the base metals, it will still translate into fund buying at the start of next year as asset managers adjust to the new weightings.

Perhaps equally important is what inclusion says about a metal widely assumed to be heading for obsolescence as lead-acid batteries succumb to the relentless march of lithium-powered electric vehicles (EV).

The frequent reports of lead’s death, however, continue to be much exaggerated.