SHANGHAI, May 8 (SMM) – Operating rates across licensed smelters of secondary lead in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Guizhou continued to stabilise at 49.6% in the week ended May 8, showed an SMM survey. 

Secondary lead smelters operations have stayed at the current level for the fifth consecutive week, with light trades in the market this week as downstream lead-acid battery mills did not considerably restock after the Labour Day holiday. Discounts of secondary refined lead have shown signs of widening in some regions. 

The respective operating rates at secondary lead smelters in all the four regions remained unchanged from last week, standing at 65.1% in Guizhou, 53.3% in Jiangsu, 45.5% in Henan and 40% in Anhui.

Smelters of Anhui Taihe Dahua and Jiangxi Qijin planned to start batch charging around May 10, with relatively large inventories of feedstock battery scrap. Jiangxi Fengri smelter will commission new capacity in mid-May and its battery scrap stockpiles stand at moderate levels. 

SMM expects lead social inventories to expand if the above-mentioned smelters produce as scheduled, given continued weak consumption and high inventories of finished products at lead-acid battery plants.