Lead prices took a tumble yesterday while gold slipped below the $1,000 mark and oil prices remained volatile in spite of signs of US demand reviving.

Lead dropped sharply, down 12 per cent to $2,115 a tonne, on profit-taking after a strong rally. Lead hit $2,511 on Tuesday, up 151 per cent this year, after a number of Chinese smelters were forced to close following reports that hundreds of children had been affected by lead poisoning.

However, Antaike, the state-backed Chinese research group said production lost from smelter closures would only amount to 60,000 tonnes, less than 2 per cent of national production. Stocks of lead in London Metal Exchange warehouses and Shanghai remain high and, before the latest price correction, some dealers had warned that China's lead industry had substantial spare capacity.