Prices of non-ferrous metals managed another month of rise in January 2018, with the lead prices on the MCX  recovering 8.8% in January 2018 on year-on-year basis. 
 
Even as the metal gained substantially in 2017,  the metal gained only by 2% on a month-on-month basis.
 
Data from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) indicated that world refined lead metal demand exceeded supply by 169,000 tonnes during the first eleven months of 2017. Over the same period total reported stock levels decreased by 33,000 tonnes.
 
The Finance Minister presented the Union Budget 2018-19 creating the road map for the infrastructure in years to come. Government's estimated budgetary and extra budgetary expenditure on infrastructure for 2018-19 is being increased to Rs 5.97 lakh crore against estimated expenditure of Rs 4.94 lakh crore in 2017-18.
 
Global lead mine production rose by 3.0% over the first eleven months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. This was mainly due to increases in China, India and Kazakhstan that offset a significant fall in Australia and reductions in Sweden and the United States.
 
A 3.1% increase in world refined lead metal output was mainly influenced by higher output in China and India that more than balanced a decrease of 8.6% in the United States, a Motilal Oswal report said.