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Troubled economy drags down power consumption
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-17 15:08 China's power consumption stood at 269.85 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) last month, down 3.7 percent compared with October last year, the first year-on-year monthly decrease since 1999.
Power supply also dropped last month with total electricity generated at 264.5 billion kwh, down 4 percent from October last year. "Power generation was dragged down mainly by a 5.2 percent year-on-year decrease in coal-fired power supply, which accounts for about 80 percent of China's total power," the CEC statement said. Analysts with Shanghai-based Guotai Jun'an Securities said the drop in consumption and supply signaled a slowdown in the country's economy that went "beyond expectations". "The sudden slowdown in power demand shows many companies in the manufacturing sector have cut production due to a continuous price slump of industrial commodities both at home and abroad," said a Guotai Jun'an analysis issued last Friday. Experts further warned the decrease in power supply may sound an alarm for future economic slowdown, as successive falls in power generation often precede a similar downward trend in economic growth. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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