SHANGHAI, Jun. 10 (SMM) – Utilization rate at China’s major secondary lead smelters fell another 2.18 percentage points on the month in May to 38.65% and is unlikely to increase in June, SMM says.

Large smelters were active in producing as downstream buyers favored secondary lead after its price gap with #1 lead widened.

Nevertheless, scrap battery supply tightened as battery replacement slowed and scrap battery traders to return to farm works during the busy season.

The busy season for agriculture often lasts for half a month, but may be extended to three weeks by rains. This means scrap battery supply will remain tight and utilization rate at secondary lead smelters is unlikely to increase in June, SMM lead analyst predicts.

As notable, SMM learned that large smelters are facing increasing difficulty in sourcing scrap batteries as unlicensed secondary lead makers offered higher prices.

Output from the 23 Chinese secondary lead smelters survey by SMM, representing 1.83 million tpy in total capacity, declined some 3,000 tonnes to 58,980 tonnes in May.

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