LME Lead price
The official lead price on the London Metal Exchange, session by session, in US dollars and euros per tonne. The price of the current session, in real time, is reserved for FT Mercati subscribers.
The official lead price of the latest session
In the session of October 23, 2026, the official lead price on the London Metal Exchange — the Official Cash offer (ask), the reference for supply contracts — was 1,886 US dollars per tonne: 1,685 euros per tonne at the LME exchange rate of the same session (1.1191 dollars per euro), or 1.69 euros per kilo. It rose by 0.75% from the previous session.
On this site we publish the official price of the previous session, just as the LME does on its own website. Prices of the current session are restricted: the LME grants them only to users of authorised data vendors, who pay the exchange fees. That is the FT Mercati service: subscribers follow Cash, three months and the other prompt dates, closing prices and stocks in real time, and buy and sell metal, semi-finished and finished products at the value of the moment.
Lead: what it is and where it is used
Lead is dense, malleable and corrosion-resistant. More than 80% of world consumption goes into lead-acid batteries: starter batteries for cars and trucks and batteries for energy storage and uninterruptible power supplies.
It is also the most recycled base metal: more than half of the world's refined lead comes from recovered spent batteries. The rest goes into radiation shielding, sheet for construction, cable sheathing and ammunition.
The LME lead contract
What is traded on the LME is not «lead» in general but a standard contract that defines exactly what is delivered: quality, shape, lot weight, prompt dates and delivery rules. This standard, the same for everyone, is what makes the LME price a reference all over the world. The main terms:
| Contract code | PB |
|---|---|
| Metal | Lead, minimum purity 99.97% |
| Quality | conforming to one of the standards BS EN 12659:1999 (PB970R, PB985R, PB990R), GB/T 469-2013 or ASTM B29-19 |
| Shape | ingots |
| Lot size | 25 tonnes (warrants of 25 t, tolerance ±2%) |
| Price quotation | US dollars per tonne |
| Prompt dates | daily out to 3 months, weekly from 3 to 6 months, monthly from 7 to 63 months |
| Minimum price fluctuation | 0.50 dollars per tonne on the Ring and LMEselect |
| Settlement | physical delivery, with warrants for metal of LME-approved brands in LME-approved warehouses |
| Trading venues | Ring (open outcry), LMEselect (electronic) and the inter-office telephone market |
At expiry the contract settles by physical delivery: the buyer receives warrants, the documents of title to lots of metal of LME-approved brands stored in the exchange's approved warehouses — around 400 in 32 locations worldwide, according to the LME. Most positions, however, are closed before the prompt date: the contract is used above all to fix prices and to hedge risk.
Source: contract specifications published by the LME.
What drives the lead price
Lead demand follows the vehicle fleet on the road more than new car sales: starter batteries are replaced over time, and many electric cars still carry a lead battery for on-board systems. That makes lead demand less cyclical than that of the other base metals.
On the supply side, battery collection and recycling matter, as do mines — often the same ones that produce zinc — and environmental rules for the smelters that process secondary lead.
How to read it: official price, three months, euros and premium
The LME publishes several prices every day. The reference for supply contracts is the Official Price, set in the midday trading session (the Ring): a bid and an offer for each prompt date. The Cash Settlement — the offer side of the official Cash — is the number that ends up on invoices; the end-of-day Closing Price is used mainly for margining and valuations.
Cash means delivery in two business days; three months is the rolling prompt about 90 days ahead. When three months is above Cash (contango), metal is available; when it is below (backwardation), metal is scarce right now and whoever needs it immediately pays a premium.
To convert into euros, divide the dollar price by the EUR/USD rate recorded at the LME in the same session; for euros per kilo, divide again by one thousand. The price a company actually pays then adds the regional physical premium, which covers transport, local availability, duties and product shape.
LME lead: frequently asked questions
- What is the latest official LME lead price?
- In the session of October 23, 2026, the LME Official Cash (ask) for lead was 1,886 US dollars per tonne, equal to 1,685 euros per tonne at the LME exchange rate of the same session. On this site we publish the price of the previous session; the price of the current session, in real time, is reserved for FT Mercati subscribers.
- Why does the site show the previous day's price and not today's?
- Because the LME restricts prices of the current session to users registered with authorised data vendors, who pay the exchange fees; prices of the previous session are public, on the LME's own website too. FT Mercati is an authorised vendor: subscribers receive prices in real time so they can buy and sell at the value of the moment, and the service can be tried for free.
- How do you convert the LME lead price into euros per kilo?
- Divide the price in dollars per tonne by the EUR/USD rate of the same session, then by one thousand. With the data of October 23, 2026: 1,886 divided by 1.1191 gives 1,685 euros per tonne, or 1.69 euros per kilo. The physical premium and delivery terms come on top.
- What quality of lead is delivered on the LME?
- Lead, minimum purity 99.97%, in the form of ingots, conforming to one of the standards BS EN 12659:1999 (PB970R, PB985R, PB990R), GB/T 469-2013 or ASTM B29-19. The metal must be of an LME-approved brand and stored in one of the exchange's approved warehouses.
- How many tonnes are in an LME lead contract?
- One lead lot is 25 tonnes, with a tolerance of ±2% on the warrant weight. Prompt dates run daily out to three months, weekly out to six months and monthly out to 63 months; the minimum price fluctuation is 0.50 dollars per tonne.
- Is the LME price the price I pay for lead?
- It is the base, not the final price: the regional physical premium, the conversion into euros and the delivery terms are added to the LME price. In supply contracts the usual reference is the average of the Official Cash prices over a period, plus the agreed premium.
LME — Official Prices
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