It is learned that this week (August 7-13, 2026), the combined operating rate of primary lead smelters in the three provinces was 65.71%, down 0.76 percentage points WoW.
Recently, operating rates of primary lead smelters continued to edge down. A medium-sized primary lead smelter in Hunan entered maintenance, which was the main reason for the week-over-week decline in the primary lead operating rate this week. Although some small primary lead smelters in Yunnan resumed production, overall growth was limited and failed to reverse the downtrend in operating rates. In mid-to-late August, maintenance at medium and large primary lead smelters in central and northern China will increase further, and the weekly operating rate of primary lead smelters is expected to still have downside room.
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