Secondary lead smelters operating rates edged down 0.8 percentage point

SHANGHAI, May 29 (SMM) – Operating rates across licensed smelters of secondary lead in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Guizhou averaged 48.8% in the week ended May 29, down 0.8 percentage point from the previous week, showed an SMM survey.

With continued tightness in battery scrap supply, the average rate was little changed as a fall in Guizhou was offset by an increase in Henan.

Environmental inspections forced secondary lead smelters in Guizhou to suspend production for two-to-three days. That, coupled with maintenance at some smelters, led to a drop of 21.4 percentage points in the average operating rate of secondary lead smelters in the region, which came in at 36.7% this week.

The operating rate in Henan rose 15.3 percentage points to 60.8% this week, as Jiyuan Jinli doubled its daily output after putting another production line into operation.

The rates in Anhui and Jiangsu remained unchanged at 45.2% and 53.3%, respectively.