The average operating rate of primary lead smelters in three provinces this week (January 9–15, 2026) was 67.04%, up 0.43 percentage points WoW.
This week, after new capacity at a primary lead smelter in Henan stabilized, production increased slightly; another smelter adjusted its crude lead procurement plan due to inventory accumulation, resulting in marginal production fluctuations. In Hunan, a smelter that had undergone crude lead maintenance resumed production this week, leading to a slight increase in primary lead output; at another smelter, primary lead production did not decline after crude lead maintenance, but it is expected to enter routine maintenance next week. In Yunnan, a smelter maintained stable production this week. In other regions, a smelter in south China has not yet resumed operations after routine maintenance and is expected to restart production in late January; another smelter in east China, which had been shut down for maintenance, is now expected to delay its restart until month-end, with no pre-sales plans this week.
