Baotou Steel to extend output halt
China's largest rare-earth producer said Tuesday it would suspend output at some plants for another month, extending a halt started in late October to try and stem falling prices.
Baotou Steel Rare-Earth will halt firing, smelting and separation of rare earths at its factories in Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for one more month, it said in a statement filed with the Shanghai bourse.
"The rare-earth market recovered slightly in the two months when production ... was suspended. But there has been no fundamental turnaround," it said.
The firm, also called Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech, on October 23 started halting production at almost all of its plants, including two in East China's Jiangxi Province.
China produces more than 95 percent of the world's rare earths, 17 elements crucial for making a range of high-tech products.
The country's control of the sought-after resources through production caps and export quotas has sparked a dispute with major trading partners.
The price of praseodymium-neodymium oxide, a rare-earth compound used for ceramics and magnetic materials, has slid to around 300,000 yuan ($48,000) per ton, less than one-fourth the highest level last year, the official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday.
Baotou Steel Rare-Earth implemented a similar month-long production halt in October last year, but failed to reverse the downtrend in global and domestic prices of rare earths.
The company said in October that its third-quarter net profit slumped 89.6 percent from the same period last year to 119.9 million yuan.
Its shares ended down 0.72 percent to 37.17 yuan Tuesday.
Baotou Steel Rare-Earth will halt firing, smelting and separation of rare earths at its factories in Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for one more month, it said in a statement filed with the Shanghai bourse.
"The rare-earth market recovered slightly in the two months when production ... was suspended. But there has been no fundamental turnaround," it said.
The firm, also called Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech, on October 23 started halting production at almost all of its plants, including two in East China's Jiangxi Province.
China produces more than 95 percent of the world's rare earths, 17 elements crucial for making a range of high-tech products.
The country's control of the sought-after resources through production caps and export quotas has sparked a dispute with major trading partners.
The price of praseodymium-neodymium oxide, a rare-earth compound used for ceramics and magnetic materials, has slid to around 300,000 yuan ($48,000) per ton, less than one-fourth the highest level last year, the official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday.
Baotou Steel Rare-Earth implemented a similar month-long production halt in October last year, but failed to reverse the downtrend in global and domestic prices of rare earths.
The company said in October that its third-quarter net profit slumped 89.6 percent from the same period last year to 119.9 million yuan.
Its shares ended down 0.72 percent to 37.17 yuan Tuesday.
0 Response to "Baotou Steel to extend output halt"
Post a Comment