This week (July 18, 2025 - July 24, 2025), the operating rate of primary lead smelters in the three provinces fell by 2.45 percentage points WoW to 63.37%. The production of smelters in Henan that had undergone routine maintenance earlier had not yet resumed, and another smelter in Henan saw a slight decline in production due to unstable production. The tight spot supply situation in Henan had not yet recovered. The overall operating rates in Hunan and Yunnan remained stable, with marginal fluctuations in production at some small and medium-sized smelters.
Outside the sample of the three provinces, a smelter in North China that had undergone routine maintenance resumed production as scheduled this week but had not yet reached full capacity. A smelter in Central China was expected to undergo routine maintenance of crude lead at the end of Q3, but there were no adjustments expected for primary lead production. Another smelter in east China might implement a longer-term maintenance plan in Q4.
