SHANGHAI, Jan 22 (SMM) – Operating rates across primary lead smelters in Henan, Hunan and Yunnan provinces averaged 50.1% during January 20-22, down 5.5 percentage points from the week ended January 17, according to a SMM survey.

In the last week before the Chinese New Year holiday, large-scale smelters maintained normal production, while small ones have begun their break and medium-scale smelters scaled back operations.

The operating rate for Henan slipped 2.5 percentage points to 68.2%, with that for Yunnan dropping 8.3 percentage points to 22.5%, and that for Hunan declining 8.7 percentage points to 37.3%.