China Jinchuan cuts nickel output one-third - sources

Published: 10 Nov 2008 23:02:21 PST

SHANGHAI, Nov 11 - Jinchuan Group Ltd, China's top nickel producer, has cut its production by a third in October and November and may further reduce output next month, as demand weakens, a company source and a trade source said on Tuesday.

Jinchuan has said the company planned to cut refined nickel output by 20,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes, due to weak demand in China. The country consumes about a fifth of the world's nickel, used in the production of stainless steel.

China, the world's top stainless steel producer, is expected to produce 7.8 million tonnes of crude stainless steel in 2008, up just 2 percent, after growth of 38 percent last year, a government-run research body forecast in September.