SHANGHAI, Jul 12 (SMM) – Chinese lead-acid battery producers remained in low gear this week, as a continued low consumption season and volatile lead prices kept them planning production on sales.

The average operating rate across lead-acid battery producers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hebei provinces inched up 0.6 percentage point from the previous week to stand at 48.13% in the week to Friday July 12.

This was driven by higher operations at several producers of electric bicycle batteries, as production curtailments in June eased inventory pressure and as a rebound in lead prices improved purchases by distributors in some regions.

Orders for automobile batteries remained weak, as automakers shut for the summer. This kept most producers from operating at full capacity.