SMM November 21:
During the week of November 14-20, 2025, the weekly operating rate for secondary lead in four provinces was 50.52%, a WoW increase of 2.28 percentage points. The operating rate in Anhui Province changed relatively little this week, but is expected to decline next week, primarily because a local smelter needs to temporarily halt production to renew its hazardous waste operation license. Last Saturday, environmental protection-related controls in Henan Province were lifted, leading to improved raw material arrivals and an increase in the dismantling volume of waste lead-acid batteries. Coupled with the production resumption at a small-to-medium-sized smelter, the regional operating rate increased by 7.11 percentage points. Production conditions at smelters in Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia changed relatively little. Overall, SMM expects the secondary lead operating rate to drop by more than 3 percentage points next week.
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