In February, raw material inventory at domestic lead smelters averaged 20.88 days of production, a month-on-month decrease of 1.93 days.
According to SMM survey, many domestic beneficiation plants closed in advance for 7 to 30 days in February. In some areas, affected by logistics issues, shipments of lead and zinc concentrate were delayed until March. Smelters mainly consumed previous stocks, lowering raw material inventories. The supply of crude lead after the holiday has also been affected. Many smelters said that the RCs for crude lead rich in polymetals were reduced by 100-150 yuan/mt with metal content. Some smelters delayed production resumption or had plan to reach full production due to tight supply of crude lead and raw materials.
