SHANGHAI, Apr 17 (SMM) - According to SMM research, the average operating rate of primary lead smelters across three major provinces stood at 55.44% last week, down 1.44 percentage points from a week ago.
Henan: Local smelters maintained stable production. Yuguang Gold & Lead put its crude lead capacity under maintenance, but its refined lead output was unaffected.
Hunan: Operating rates of local smelters dropped slightly. One smelter, who re-opened in early April, ramped up its production, but some smelters said their production was affected by tight supply of crude lead and lead concentrates.
Yunnan: Chihong Qujing entered into routine maintenance last week, and its output will continue to decline this week. A small smelter, who had been idled for several months, has recently resumed its production.
