SMM, February 7—
From January 31 to February 7, 2025, the weekly operating rate of secondary lead in four provinces monitored by SMM was 30.00%, down 4.82 percentage points WoW. In Anhui, large secondary lead smelters resumed production, leading to a 2.64 percentage point increase in the regional operating rate. In Henan, smelters maintained normal production during the Chinese New Year, though some enterprises indicated expectations for production cuts. Due to a critical shortage of raw material inventory, some enterprises significantly cut production this week, causing the regional operating rate to plummet by 21.18 percentage points. Enterprises stated that after restocking raw materials, they expect to increase production next week. Operating rates in Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia remained relatively stable, with some enterprises in Inner Mongolia expecting to resume production around the Lantern Festival.
