Exclusive: China's primary lead output fell to 250,500 mt in February

SHANGHAI, Mar 9 (SMM) — SMM data showed that China produced 250,500 mt of primary lead in February, down 4.14% from January, and up 17% from a year ago. For January-February, output rose 8.69% from the same period last year. Production capacities of enterprises involved in the survey will stand at 5.48 million mt in total in 2021.

SMM survey showed that February coincided with the traditional Chinese New Year holiday, and most small and medium smelting companies took advantage of the trend to take maintenance or holiday. As February only has 28 days, the normal production time of smelting companies was shorter than usual, leading to a decline in the monthly output. Compared to February (the month of the CNY) of the previous year, the general MoM reduction ranged from 30,000 to 50,000 mt, and this year it was only a reduction of more than 10,000 mt. On the one hand, some primary lead companies expanded their production capacity compared to previous years. On the other hand, some medium and large companies did not restricted their production due to the CNY or the reduction in working days. At the same time, companies such as Xinling, Copper Crown, and Mengzi basically resumed normal production after completing the maintenance in February. Therefore, the output of primary lead in February decreased as usual in previous years, but the rate of decline narrowed.

The smelting enterprises will resume their normal working days in March, and most of the companies' production plans will be adjusted upwards compared with February. At the same time, the companies that took maintenance or were on holiday during the CNY will gradually resume production in March. The output of Henan Minshan, Hunan Jingui, Huaxin, and Shuikoushan Zhihui have all increased, prompting the output of primary lead to rise sharply in March. SMM expects China's primary lead output to increase over 10,000 mt to 288,700 mt in March.