China poised to meet 6% industrial output growth target

BEIJING - China stands poised to meet its full-year target of a 6-percent increase in industrial output, an official said Thursday.

As the country's economy stabilizes, industrial output is expected to continue to expand in the fourth quarter, Huang Libin, a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at a news conference.

China's industrial output expanded 6 percent in the first three quarters of 2016, largely due to strong performance in the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors.

Industrial output is used to measure the activity of large designated enterprises with an annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($2.97 million).

Huang said that thanks to the government's capacity cut measures, the profitability of the steel and coal industries have improved. The two sectors had completed 80 percent of this year's overcapacity reduction target by the end of September.

Steel and coal prices surged more than 30 percent and 50 percent in mid-October, respectively, from the beginning of the year.

Major steel companies saw profits during the first eight months of the year, after reporting losses the same period last year.

The coal sector also reported positive growth in profits in August, ending profit declines in the first seven months, Huang added.