SHANGHAI, Feb 3 (SMM) - According to SMM survey, some large secondary lead smelters sustained the production during the holiday, while most smelters in north China, especially in the Inner Mongolia, were closed due to cold weather, and their production resumption was relatively slow. In Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, only one secondary lead smelter did not stop the production during the holiday, and other smelters planned to return to work after the Lantern Festival (February 5). The smelters in Anhui closed for the CNY holiday have not restored the operation so far. The production is expected to begin after February 5.

This week is the first week after the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday. Generally speaking, the production resumption in Guangxi, Jiangxi, and Yunnan is in progress; most smelters in Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang have resumed the operation, but their output, affected by a shortage of workforce and the slow recovery of the lead-acid battery scrap market, will not return to normal until after the Lantern Festival.

As for lead-acid battery enterprises, the production resumption is underway this week, but their output is still less than that in the last week before the holiday. The operating rates of lead-acid battery companies will improve in the coming week with more workers returning to work.

To sum up, the re-opening of lead battery enterprises has been slow, leading to limited purchasing demand, while the finished product inventory of secondary lead smelters that have just resumed operation is also limited. Therefore, the quotations for small orders were few in the spot market, and the trades were muted. As for the procurement of lead ingots, enterprises in north and south China did not have strong restocking demand, while those in the central part already started to stockpile.