SMM May 8 News:
From May 1 to May 7, 2026, SMM data showed that the weekly operating rate of secondary lead in four provinces in China was 27.09%, down 13.45 percentage points WoW. In Anhui and Henan, smelters suspended production and production lines underwent maintenance respectively. In Jiangsu, the shutdown of a large smelter dragged down the regional operating rate by 25.71 percentage points. In Inner Mongolia, the shutdown of a large smelter caused the regional operating rate to plunge by 57.94 percentage points. Most enterprises plan to maintain production next week. Under the volatile lead price pattern, attention should be focused on the constraining impact of raw material arrivals on production going forward.
![Rising China Supply Combined with Ex-China Inventories at 13-Year High Limits Upside Momentum for Lead Prices [SMM Lead Market Weekly Forecast]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/msNEk20251217171722.jpg)
![Intraday lead prices edged up before fluctuating and pulling back, eventually closing with a doji [Lead Futures Brief]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/qnyHQ20251217171721.jpeg)
