Three sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed that Citi delivered large quantities of lead to London Metal Exchange approved warehouses in Singapore for lucrative financial deals on Monday. The total LME stock of battery metal has now reached its highest level since early May.

Sources said that the lead deliveries made by Citi in the U.S. are part of so-called "rent deals" where LME approved warehouses split fees with banks and commodity dealers who deliver metal to them. Citi did not reveal the exact amount of lead delivered to LME's warehouses by Citi on Monday.

Citi declined to make a comment.

Metal for Rent companies do not need to own the metal. They can receive a portion of the rent paid by new owners as long as they keep the metal in the warehouse.

On Monday, lead inventories rose 44,475 tons to 253,550 metric tons. Data from the daily LME showed that sales were up by 40% since last June 4. The breakdown shows that 45,725 tonnes were delivered to LME Singapore warehouses and 1,250 tonnes were removed.

Rent for metal stored in LME warehouses is five times higher than the metal that isn't deliverable.

LME warehouse rents are around 51 U.S. Cents per ton. For 45,725 tonnes, that would be more than $23,000 every day.

These deals are made possible by the fact that companies can buy lower priced lead contracts nearer to maturity and sell higher-priced contracts further down.

Discount for cash on the 3-month contract On July 11, prices climbed to the highest level since early June, exceeding $60 per ton. Last time, it was around $42 per ton. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith; Pratima Deai)