Operating rate for secondary lead smelting in China dipped slightly week of June 12-18,2026, settling at 29.6%. Down 0.12 percentage points from previous week. In Anhui,Jiangsu,rates held steady,but Henan saw bigger drop — production fell 0.76 points due to supply shortage.
Inner Mongolia bucked trend with 1.14 point rise. Rebound in lead prices mid-week spurred some enterprises to ramp up output, hoping for better market conditions. But upcoming Dragon Boat Festival will disrupt operations. Downstream battery producers are taking breaks,halting lead ingot consumption temporarily .
Sluggish raw material supply and low smelter enthusiasm paint tough picture ahead. SMM analysts expect rate to stabilize next week. Key focus will be whether smaller Inner Mongolia smelter resumes production…potentially impacting overall output.
