Lead price history, 1960 to 2026

LME cash averaged $1,873/t in September 2026, -4% over twelve months and -4% over ten years. The nominal all-time high was $3,720/t in October 2007; in 2024 dollars the real peak was $6,005/t in June 1979. Monthly averages, World Bank Pink Sheet.

Show latest price in Converted from USD at the latest available monthly average rate (Federal Reserve via FRED); the chart and tables below stay in USD.

LME cashLead, 99.97% pure, LME spot (IMF)

Dashed lines: OPEC oil embargo (Oct 1973); Iranian Revolution (Jan 1979); Iraq invades Kuwait (Aug 1990); Asian financial crisis begins (Jul 1997); September 11 attacks (Sep 2001); Lehman Brothers collapse (Sep 2008); Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident (Mar 2011); OPEC holds output steady amid oversupply (Nov 2014); COVID-19 declared a pandemic (Mar 2020); Russia invades Ukraine (Feb 2022); Israel-Hamas war begins (Oct 2023). Hover a line for the source of its date.

Derived price statistics per series
Series	Latest	1 month	12 months	5 years	10 years	20 years	All-time high (nominal)	All-time high (real, 2024 US$)
LME cash $/t, since 1960	1,873 September 2026	+1%	-4%	-17%	-4%	+40%	3,720 October 2007	6,005 June 1979
Lead, 99.97% pure, LME spot (IMF) $/t, since 1992	1,855 August 2026	+1%	-5%	-23%	+1%	+57%	3,723 October 2007	5,582 October 2007

Percentage changes compare the latest monthly average with the monthly average 1, 12, 60, 120 and 240 months earlier. Real prices deflate by the US consumer price index (BLS via FRED) to 2024 dollars.

Prices are monthly benchmark averages that may lag the market; informational only, not investment, legal or trade advice. For what these benchmarks mean and how they are set, see how lead is priced.

Monthly lead prices by decade

Choose a decade. Values are monthly averages in the unit shown; blank cells mean no quote was published.

LME cash ($/t)

LME cash monthly prices, 1960s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
1960	206	204	210	214	213	202	196	195	193	185	188	179	198.8
1961	176	180	182	185	184	178	179	178	176	173	166	167	177
1962	163	162	167	167	165	159	148	141	143	146	150	153	155.3
1963	149	151	154	159	167	179	180	185	187	192	191	205	174.9
1964	218	223	224	227	244	246	271	301	301	332	365	384	278
1965	348	390	395	353	302	279	272	272	289	307	299	301	317.3
1966	301	292	293	280	262	259	263	243	254	234	223	224	260.7
1967	220	222	228	227	226	228	231	232	227	226	242	222	227.6
1968	218	228	234	235	238	239	247	250	252	248	249	250	240.7
1969	254	258	261	268	278	286	311	316	303	294	316	334	289.9

LME cash monthly prices, 1970s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
1970	325	341	336	321	292	308	301	285	285	285	280	277	303
1971	263	266	267	268	265	273	262	258	239	230	222	231	253.7
1972	252	294	321	316	318	312	304	298	302	297	298	308	301.7
1973	318	340	372	387	396	425	470	448	445	472	490	594	429.8
1974	566	649	708	702	669	570	549	550	539	537	534	534	592.3
1975	538	541	543	480	357	353	359	384	370	345	337	333	411.7
1976	337	348	384	454	483	476	509	483	481	465	459	478	446.4
1977	560	648	703	648	661	567	562	551	582	615	633	686	618
1978	664	582	582	573	545	570	582	639	693	830	824	859	661.9
1979	992	1,055	1,177	1,161	1,239	1,382	1,272	1,213	1,231	1,319	1,225	1,233	1,208

LME cash monthly prices, 1980s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
1980	1,118	1,168	1,121	969	772	739	811	853	883	879	813	743	905.8
1981	705	689	730	759	697	712	784	824	764	717	666	674	726.8
1982	648	618	613	575	575	521	552	523	515	497	462	448	545.6
1983	475	455	443	458	433	408	403	398	405	419	405	402	425.3
1984	398	405	460	482	453	484	494	467	402	412	441	416	442.8
1985	421	368	352	390	376	389	403	414	400	393	394	390	390.8
1986	368	367	367	370	377	418	380	392	407	435	473	518	406
1987	464	460	487	556	693	629	664	659	647	601	642	659	596.8
1988	667	656	649	649	668	678	619	602	610	655	691	731	656.3
1989	676	622	589	608	643	666	692	702	728	752	693	711	673.5

LME cash monthly prices, 1990s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
1990	708	780	1,062	836	826	838	875	876	839	761	701	625	810.6
1991	600	594	603	601	555	549	548	540	540	522	506	532	557.5
1992	515	505	521	533	520	548	626	655	621	537	460	455	541.3
1993	437	414	406	421	407	394	388	388	376	384	400	461	406.3
1994	490	485	452	440	474	525	580	571	614	642	667	634	547.8
1995	667	580	586	609	597	612	622	624	593	639	714	732	631.3
1996	710	770	818	815	840	797	784	816	796	742	717	689	774.5
1997	692	660	695	643	619	615	634	608	634	600	563	527	624.2
1998	532	516	560	573	544	528	546	537	520	493	494	501	528.7
1999	492	514	508	519	542	496	496	503	507	497	478	479	502.6

LME cash monthly prices, 2000s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
2000	472	452	441	421	412	420	452	473	487	486	468	462	453.8
2001	478	502	498	478	467	444	462	483	465	468	487	483	476.3
2002	513	480	480	472	452	440	446	423	421	418	442	444	452.6
2003	445	476	457	437	464	468	515	497	521	587	622	692	515.1
2004	758	888	886	754	809	870	940	922	935	933	968	975	886.5
2005	953	978	1,004	986	988	986	854	887	933	1,005	1,018	1,124	976.3
2006	1,256	1,277	1,192	1,170	1,167	964	1,052	1,174	1,342	1,531	1,625	1,726	1,290
2007	1,666	1,780	1,914	2,001	2,101	2,425	3,083	3,119	3,227	3,720	3,328	2,596	2,580
2008	2,608	3,080	3,009	2,823	2,235	1,863	1,945	1,924	1,868	1,480	1,291	963	2,091
2009	1,133	1,101	1,239	1,383	1,440	1,674	1,679	1,900	2,205	2,241	2,309	2,329	1,719

LME cash monthly prices, 2010s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
2010	2,368	2,124	2,172	2,265	1,883	1,704	1,837	2,075	2,184	2,380	2,377	2,413	2,149
2011	2,602	2,587	2,624	2,701	2,428	2,525	2,681	2,397	2,288	1,960	1,994	2,022	2,401
2012	2,096	2,121	2,057	2,071	2,013	1,854	1,881	1,901	2,178	2,142	2,182	2,280	2,065
2013	2,334	2,366	2,169	2,027	2,033	2,100	2,048	2,174	2,085	2,115	2,090	2,137	2,140
2014	2,143	2,108	2,053	2,087	2,097	2,107	2,193	2,237	2,117	2,034	2,030	1,938	2,095
2015	1,843	1,796	1,792	2,005	1,992	1,830	1,763	1,704	1,684	1,720	1,618	1,707	1,788
2016	1,646	1,766	1,802	1,732	1,708	1,713	1,835	1,836	1,948	2,024	2,181	2,210	1,867
2017	2,243	2,312	2,281	2,221	2,125	2,133	2,270	2,348	2,374	2,498	2,461	2,510	2,315
2018	2,584	2,581	2,390	2,352	2,361	2,436	2,207	2,054	2,023	1,988	1,937	1,972	2,240
2019	1,997	2,063	2,046	1,939	1,815	1,900	1,976	2,045	2,072	2,184	2,021	1,901	1,997

LME cash monthly prices, 2020s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
2020	1,924	1,873	1,734	1,658	1,626	1,745	1,818	1,936	1,873	1,776	1,916	2,020	1,825
2021	2,015	2,080	1,948	2,012	2,182	2,191	2,338	2,414	2,248	2,345	2,330	2,302	2,200
2022	2,332	2,297	2,345	2,380	2,142	2,066	1,985	2,073	1,870	2,000	2,100	2,216	2,151
2023	2,201	2,093	2,115	2,149	2,084	2,123	2,109	2,154	2,252	2,134	2,188	2,027	2,136
2024	2,086	2,080	2,056	2,129	2,221	2,147	2,107	1,995	2,000	2,034	1,988	1,990	2,069
2025	1,921	1,957	2,033	1,903	1,958	1,974	1,993	1,947	1,955	1,968	1,998	1,940	1,962
2026	1,995	1,917	1,878	1,930	1,991	1,946	1,842	1,855	1,873				1,914

Lead, 99.97% pure, LME spot (IMF) ($/t)

Lead, 99.97% pure, LME spot (IMF) monthly prices, 1990s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
1992	515.7	505.7	523.1	533.3	520.8	551	633.3	655.3	624.8	540.5	462.1	456.7	543.5
1993	436.9	415	405.4	422.1	407.7	397.1	389.6	389.9	376.3	386.1	401.6	460.4	407.3
1994	491.4	484.5	451.1	440.4	475.9	524.5	579	570.6	613	640.6	679.3	634.4	548.7
1995	664.8	577.8	582	605.8	595.9	610.3	622.4	623.4	591.3	639.4	710.5	728	629.3
1996	709.9	768.4	816.7	812	841	796.6	783.8	816.2	794.3	741.1	720.3	689.4	774.1
1997	691.5	657.9	693.6	641.6	617.8	614	633.5	607.4	632.9	598.2	562.6	525.7	623.1
1998	530.7	515.6	559	571.8	542.7	526.5	543.6	526.8	519.5	493.2	493	500.6	526.9
1999	491.6	513	506.8	517.1	540.7	495.5	495.1	502.2	506.5	496.4	477.6	478.7	501.8

Lead, 99.97% pure, LME spot (IMF) monthly prices, 2000s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
2000	471.9	453.3	441.8	423	412.6	419.6	453.1	472.6	488	484.8	465.9	463.5	454.2
2001	478.5	501.7	498.8	477.6	466.1	444.7	462.2	483.6	464.8	468.6	486.7	482.9	476.4
2002	511.1	480.9	480.7	472.1	450.4	440	446	424.3	420.5	418.2	441.4	441.2	452.2
2003	444.8	474.5	454.7	438	462.3	467.7	513.3	493.8	521	587.4	622.7	690.1	514.2
2004	753.6	885.2	878.1	747	804.1	863.7	931.3	916.6	932.2	932.9	966.3	972.3	881.9
2005	954.2	973	1,002	980.5	985.3	982.6	857.5	887.4	932.8	999.4	1,018	1,120	974.4
2006	1,258	1,267	1,194	1,171	1,168	963.6	1,053	1,179	1,347	1,526	1,626	1,709	1,288
2007	1,664	1,775	1,909	1,984	2,106	2,437	3,072	3,115	3,228	3,723	3,320	2,616	2,579
2008	2,622	3,090	3,013	2,835	2,216	1,861	1,960	1,903	1,872	1,494	1,286	968.2	2,093
2009	1,145	1,100	1,247	1,394	1,447	1,667	1,674	1,893	2,205	2,228	2,303	2,326	1,719

Lead, 99.97% pure, LME spot (IMF) monthly prices, 2010s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
2010	2,352	2,126	2,163	2,272	1,877	1,707	1,844	2,083	2,193	2,384	2,365	2,413	2,148
2011	2,584	2,596	2,624	2,719	2,420	2,525	2,681	2,393	2,288	1,960	1,994	2,025	2,401
2012	2,100	2,121	2,057	2,074	1,999	1,851	1,881	1,898	2,178	2,142	2,182	2,280	2,064
2013	2,334	2,366	2,173	2,024	2,032	2,100	2,048	2,173	2,085	2,115	2,090	2,137	2,140
2014	2,143	2,108	2,053	2,087	2,097	2,107	2,193	2,237	2,117	2,034	2,030	1,938	2,095
2015	1,843	1,796	1,792	2,005	1,992	1,830	1,763	1,704	1,684	1,720	1,618	1,707	1,788
2016	1,646	1,766	1,802	1,732	1,708	1,713	1,835	1,836	1,948	2,024	2,181	2,210	1,867
2017	2,243	2,312	2,281	2,221	2,125	2,133	2,270	2,348	2,374	2,498	2,461	2,510	2,315
2018	2,584	2,581	2,390	2,352	2,361	2,436	2,207	2,054	2,023	1,988	1,937	1,972	2,240
2019	1,997	2,063	2,046	1,939	1,815	1,900	1,976	2,045	2,072	2,184	2,021	1,901	1,997

Lead, 99.97% pure, LME spot (IMF) monthly prices, 2020s, $/t
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
2020	1,924	1,873	1,734	1,658	1,626	1,745	1,818	1,936	1,873	1,776	1,916	2,020	1,825
2021	2,015	2,080	1,948	2,012	2,183	2,191	2,338	2,414	2,248	2,345	2,330	2,302	2,200
2022	2,332	2,297	2,345	2,386	2,148	2,075	1,985	2,069	1,870	2,000	2,100	2,226	2,153
2023	2,207	2,093	2,115	2,145	2,088	2,123	2,109	2,155	2,252	2,131	2,188	2,027	2,136
2024	2,087	2,080	2,055	2,125	2,220	2,147	2,107	1,999	2,003	2,034	1,988	1,988	2,069
2025	1,922	1,957	2,031	1,906	1,957	1,974	1,993	1,947	1,955	1,968	1,998	1,940	1,962
2026	1,993	1,917	1,878	1,928	1,990	1,946	1,843	1,855					1,919

Method

Nominal prices are the source's monthly averages in US dollars, stored in the source's unit and never mixed on one chart. Real prices divide each month by the US consumer price index for all urban consumers (BLS series CPIAUCSL, via FRED) and multiply by the 2024 average, so they read as "2024 dollars". Changes are ratios of monthly averages. The all-time high is the highest monthly average, not an intraday peak.

Downloads

All series and statistics as JSON
Monthly prices as CSV (LME cash)
IMF series are shown as charts and statistics only; download them from the IMF Primary Commodity Price System.

Cite as: Commodity Origins, "Lead price history (1960–2026)", https://commodityorigins.com/prices/lead/, data 2026-10-02. Data updated 22 October 2026.