Weekly operating rates at primary lead smelters steady at 60.7%

SHANGHAI, Aug 9 (SMM) – Primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan maintained stable operations this week, as smelters refrained from new maintenance and as smelters that recovered from maintenance have ramped up.

An SMM survey showed that the average operating rate across primary lead producers in the three regions remained unchanged from the previous week, at 60.7% in the week ended August 9.

There were no changes to the respective rates for the three regions, either. Producers in Henan operated at a rate of 79.1%, while Yunnan smelters saw a rate of 39.1%. Operating rates across primary lead smelters in Hunan stood at 43.4%.

Primary lead smelters have no plan for maintenance in August, while production at smelters who previously conducted maintenance have recovered to levels in May-June before the maintenance.

This is expected to increase output at primary lead smelters for August by over 30,000 mt from July, which will exert downward pressure on lead price growth.

With no scheduled maintenance, operating rates across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan are expected to hold stable next week.