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Chinese coal crunch

The prospects of China-led coal market recovery are sinking, with an industry official warning that more than 70% of Chinese coal firms were losing money.

Blair Price

According to Xinhua, China Coal Industry Association chairman Wang Xianzheng also said more than half of Chinese coal enterprises were struggling to pay workforces their wages.

The chairman also told an industry forum that the challenges facing the coal industry were expected to get worse.

“At a separate news briefing on Thursday, Huang Libin of the Ministry of Industry said coal was one of China’s worst-performing sectors this year, along with steel and nonferrous metals,”Reuters reported.

“He said profits in the sector fell 43.9% in the first five months.”

Wang reportedly said problems had been piling up for the coal industry since the second half of 2012 as slowing consumption could not absorb growing supply “especially in the face of rising imports”

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