综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

Business / Industries

Coal barons struggle amid falling coal prices

(Xinhua) Updated: 2012-07-26 10:55

TAIYUAN -- A slowing economy and waning demand for coal have triggered an 11-consecutive-week price drop after a decade of robust development, arousing great concerns among China's coal enterprises.

However, industry analysts believe the situation for the world's largest coal consumer and the third-largest reserver won't last long, although more imports, less consumption and poor economic prospects threaten to sap demand.

Coal barons struggle amid falling coal prices
Coal piling up at the Qinhuangdao Port in Hebei province, July 15, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

The China Coal Price Index shows that China's benchmark power-station coal price fell for the 11th week as stockpiles at the Qinhuangdao Port in Hebei province, which boasts one of the country's highest export volumes, rose the most in six months on slowing demand.

Coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram slid by 1.96 percent to 641 yuan ($100) per metric ton after 10 weeks of decline, data from the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association showed.

According to the CCTDA report, in the last two months, the price slumped 23 percent from the same period in 2011, indicating unusually weak industrial demand.

Sales of coal resources in coal-rich regions such as Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia have been seriously affected as a result.

Guo Xutian, CEO of Xinshi Coal & Coking Co Ltd, in north Shanxi province, China's second-largest coal production base, said the entrapped coal mine selling has resulted in lay-offs for two-thirds of workers.

"Sales were never a problem, but now, look at the coal piling up on the ground," Guo sighed, saying the company has been on limited production since April. "The price dived by 80 yuan to 120 yuan a metric ton, even though we didn't put the brakes on production. We are barely making ends meet, gaining zero profit," said Ma Zhi, chairman of Jinhuagong coal mine's trade union with Datong Coal Mine Group.

Chinese demand for coal, which fuels three-quarters of the nation's power plants, has slowed as the cooling economy curbs electricity consumption.

China's power generation rose 0.7 percent in April from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That was down from 7.2 percent in March and marked the slowest pace of growth in three years.

Thermal power-generated electricity, which accounts for over 60 percent of overall electricity generation, climbed 4 percent in the January-May period, indicating a strong sign of decline compared to 7 percent in the same period last year. Water-generated electricity consumption rose by 35 percent in the southern regions.

Previous Page 1 2 Next Page

Hot Topics

Editor's Picks
...
宜兰县| 苏尼特左旗| 高平市| 芜湖县| 自贡市| 高密市| 乐平市| 阳新县| 石家庄市| 襄垣县| 南华县| 浏阳市| 迁安市| 安阳县| 海宁市| 衡山县| 日土县| 锡林郭勒盟| 囊谦县| 同心县| 娱乐| 兴隆县| 瑞安市| 南岸区| 化州市| 广水市| 凤阳县| 奉化市| 九龙城区| 夏河县| 铜梁县| 广州市| 库伦旗| 沈阳市| 堆龙德庆县| 麻城市| 左贡县| 玛纳斯县| 资溪县| 连云港市| 兰溪市|