Lead-acid batteries: Correlation
Prices it moves with, and why
Lead-acid battery prices are driven by lead, which makes up most of the weight, plus sulphuric acid, plastic cases and labour. Recycled lead supplies much of the demand, and buyers often have contracts with metal price adjustments.
Price index US PPI: lead-acid storage batteries (BCI 8D or smaller) index · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026What its price moves with
Selected linkLead-acid batteries and Lead
Monthly changes -0.02 little or none correlation 12-month changes 0.43 moderate correlation Last 5 years -0.03 monthly changes Lead or lag +2 mo Lead tends to lead by 2 months (r 0.29) Price function, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 Lead-acid batteries ≈ 25.3 × (Lead)0.27 R² 0.08 On this fit, a 10% higher lead price goes with a 2.7% higher lead-acid batteries price over the long run. Units: index and $/mt. The fit is loose, so treat the function as a rough guide.Chart: Lead-acid batteries and Lead prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, log scale
Both prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size.Chart: Lead-acid batteries price against Lead price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line
Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2006), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic.Plates and grids are made of lead, and many battery contracts adjust for the lead price. Yet the US index shows little monthly link, at -0.02, with yearly moves at 0.43 and lead leading by about two months, as adjustments arrive late.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsEach cell is filled with dilute sulphuric acid, and spent acid is recovered in recycling. Acid is a small cost, so the acid index shows only a weak link, with monthly moves at 0.08 and yearly moves at 0.36.
little or none co-movement month to month · 225 months Show chartsCases and lids are moulded from polypropylene, which is recycled along with the lead. The plastics proxy shows no monthly link to battery prices, at 0.00, and only 0.28 for yearly moves.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsAntimony hardens lead grids, particularly in deep-cycle and industrial batteries, though calcium alloys have replaced it in many car batteries. Antimony supply is concentrated in China, and recent price spikes raised costs for some makers.
Not enough overlapping price history to measure.LFP batteries are taking over in telecom backup, solar storage and some starter uses. The two indices move together over years, correlating at 0.72 for yearly moves, but only at 0.10 for monthly moves.
little or none co-movement month to month · 243 months Show chartsEvery petrol and diesel car needs a starter battery, and the replacement market is large, including in India. The car price proxy shows no link to battery prices, with monthly moves at 0.01, because car prices reflect many other costs.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsHow to read these numbers
Correlation of monthly changes (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak.
12-month changes compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs.
Price function is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation.
Lead or lag checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months.
Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link.
Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site.