Post-Holiday Refined Lead Market Sees Dual Increase in Supply and Demand: How Is the Supply Recovery Pace of Primary Lead Smelters? [SMM Analysis]

After the Lantern Festival, the Chinese New Year market has officially ended. The refined lead market saw a simultaneous increase in supply and demand, and trading in the lead market gradually became active. How is the recovery pace of primary lead supply? SMM provides an analysis——

According to reports, apart from the routine maintenance of small and medium-sized smelters in Henan, Hunan, Yunnan, and other regions before the Chinese New Year, some smelters also scheduled production cuts or technological transformation maintenance. After the February holiday, primary lead smelters gradually resumed the supply of primary lead. Regarding the recovery of smelters under maintenance in January, smelters in Guangdong and other regions that underwent maintenance in January resumed production after the February holiday, easing supply in South China compared to pre-holiday levels this week. Smelters in Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, and other regions also resumed supply as expected, but the recovery of production in Hunan smelters was relatively slow.

In terms of the recovery pace, smelters that halted production or underwent maintenance during the Chinese New Year holiday generally resumed crude lead production in the first or second week after the holiday, but primary lead production has not yet reached full capacity. This week (2025.2.10-2025.2.14), the operating rate of primary lead increased as expected. SMM expects that the supply of primary lead in Henan, Hunan, and other regions will continue to grow in late February.

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