SHANGHAI, Oct 25 (SMM) – The average operating rate across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces unchanged from the previous week, at 57.7% between October 19 and 25, showed an SMM survey.

The respective rates for the three areas were little changed on the week at 70.2% for Henan, 43.8% for Yunnan, and 43.3% for Hunan. 

SMM learned that inventories built up at some primary lead smelters this week, on the back of stable production, weakened consumption and deepened discounts of secondary lead. This sparked bearish sentiment and drove primary smelters to destock at discounts.