SMM Primary Lead Smelter Weekly Operating Rate (September 4-10, 2026) [SMM Primary Lead Operating Weekly Review]

According to SMM survey, the combined operating rate of primary lead smelters across the three provinces stood at 63.52% in the week of September 4-10, 2026, up 0.69 percentage points WoW.

Recently, lead prices continued to consolidate at highs, boosting production enthusiasm among lead smelters. This week, small and medium-sized enterprises in Hunan and Yunnan edged up production slightly, driven by production resumptions after maintenance and proactive production ramp-ups, which ended the decline in weekly operating rates of primary lead enterprises since around end-August. It is also learned that the technological transformation cycle of smelting enterprises in Hunan may be extended, and smelters in north-west China plan to undergo maintenance in late September, at which point the operating rate of primary lead enterprises will decline again.