SMM Weekly Operating Rate of Primary Lead Smelters (February 20, 2026–February 26, 2026) [SMM Weekly Review of Primary Lead Operating Rates]

Published: Feb 27, 2026 18:00

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During the week of February 22 to February 26, 2026, the average operating rate of primary lead smelters in three provinces was 51.47%, up 1.14 percentage points WoW from the rate during the Chinese New Year holiday week, but down 8.24 percentage points WoW from the pre-holiday rate.

During the holiday period, smelters in Henan generally maintained stable production, while the main decline in operating rates came from Hunan, where smelters underwent scheduled maintenance shutdowns or partial production line halts. This week, primary lead smelters in Hunan gradually resumed operations. One smelter only restarted crude lead production, with primary lead output expected to resume by the end of this week and gradually increase next week. Another smelter's maintenance is anticipated to be delayed until mid-March. Smelters in Yunnan that halted for holiday maintenance have not yet resumed operations. Some producers mentioned that due to fluctuations in precious metal prices, their enthusiasm for purchasing and stockpiling silver-lead ore raw materials has declined in the short term.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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