According to a survey by SMM, the weekly operating rate of secondary lead smelters in four provinces was 38.19% from August 31 to September 6, down 0.45 percentage points WoW. The operating rate in Anhui remained largely unchanged this week, but some smelters have resumed production after furnace drying, which may increase the operating rate in the region next week. In Henan, partial maintenance at some smelters affected the dismantling volume of battery scrap, causing a slight decline in the operating rate. The production at secondary lead smelters in Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia remained stable, with the operating rate unchanged from last week.
Additionally, the downstream lead-acid battery consumption market has been sluggish, and lead prices have fallen below the 17,000 yuan/mt mark. Losses at secondary lead smelters have widened, and the market closely monitors their production dynamics. To this end, SMM has compiled the "Production Reduction and Halt Details and Production Recovery Plans at Chinese Secondary Lead Enterprises in August-September" for reference.
