SHANGHAI, Jun 14 (SMM) – Licensed smelters of secondary lead across Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu provinces operated at a higher rate in the week to Friday June 14 as new capacity at Anhui Huabo commissioned steadily. 

SMM data showed that the operating rates across licensed secondary lead smelters of the three areas averaged 53.6% in the week ended June 14, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous week.

The average rate across smelters in Anhui grew 4.6 percentage points on the week, to 41.3%. The Anhui Huabo smelter produced 900 mt of secondary lead per day.

Operating rates across Jiangsu’s smelters held firm at 50%, and the rates across smelters in Henan also stood flat at 75.4% this week. 

Supply of secondary lead was sufficient in Jiangxi and Henan provinces after the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and this expanded the discounts of secondary refined lead. 

As of Friday June 14, trades of secondary refined lead occurred at a discount of 100-200 yuan/mt, ex-works with taxes included, against the average price of SMM #1 lead. Producers reported poor sales if discounts stood narrower than 100 yuan/mt.