It is understood that this week (July 17, 2026 – July 23, 2026), the combined operating rate of primary lead smelters in three provinces was 66.77%, up 0.48 percentage points WoW.
The rebound in operating rates of primary lead smelters this week was mainly driven by the resumption of normal production at some smelters in Hunan province. Previously, affected by raw material undersupply, enterprises were in a state of production cuts. Recently, as production recovered, lead output rebounded. Next week, a medium-to-large smelter in Hunan plans to undergo maintenance, which is expected to bring a certain amount of production reduction. In Yunnan, a small-to-medium primary lead smelter is about to complete maintenance, and subsequent attention will be paid to its production resumption progress.
![Supplier shipment sentiment diverges, lead ingot transactions remain weak [SMM Lead Morning Meeting Summary]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/guTSZ20251217171722.jpg)
