中國煤炭限產措施出現鬆動

China’s top planning agency has backed away from the production curbs that caused a huge squeeze in the coal industry last year, vowing to adopt more market-friendly measures in coal mining and other oversupplied industries.

中國最高規劃機構國家發改委已放鬆煤炭限產措施，去年這些措施導致煤炭行業高度緊張，發改委承諾將在煤炭開採行業和其他供應過剩行業實行更以市場爲導向的措施。

The National Development and Reform Commission still plans to cut 150m tonnes of coal mining capacity this year. But it said it would leave the size and timing of the cuts to local governments if prices remained stable.

國家發改委今年仍計劃削減1.50億噸的煤炭開採產能。但該部門表示，如果價格保持穩定，將把減產的規模和時間交由地方政府決定。

Beijing’s top-down restriction on state mines’ operating days — the number that miners could work in a year was cut from 330 to 276 — along with private mines closed by poor margins caused a supply shock and sudden price spike in the second half of last year. Benchmark thermal coal prices in Asia more than doubled, reaching more than $100 a tonne. It did not specify price levels but analysts believe it has set a floor of about Rmb535 a tonne, which equates to $70 a tonne for international traded coal.

中國政府針對國有礦企工作天數實行的自上而下的限制（煤礦一年的工作日從330天降至276天），加上民營煤礦因利潤微薄而關閉，導致去年下半年發生供應衝擊和價格突然飆升。基準亞洲熱煤價格上漲逾一倍，達到每噸100美元以上。發改委並未具體說明價格穩定到何種水平，但分析人士認爲，其設定的最低價格是每噸535元人民幣左右，換算爲國際交易煤炭價格爲每噸70美元。

The NDRC is turning its attention to other industries, including non-ferrous metals and building materials.

發改委正關注其他行業，包括有色金屬和建材。

But Beijing seems to have learnt its lesson from the sharp run-ups in the steel futures market last spring, followed by the spike in coal prices. “Non-ferrous metals and building materials also have the problem of overcapacity,” said Ning Jizhe, who serves as deputy director of the NDRC. “But they have a relatively higher degree of marketisation. We’ll rely more on market and institutional methods to cut capacity in these two sectors.”

然而，中國政府似乎已從去年春天鋼鐵期貨價格大幅飆升，以及之後煤炭價格飆升中吸取教訓。發改委副主任寧吉喆表示：“有色、建材，或多或少也存在着一些產能富餘現象，但這些領域市場化程度都比較高。要通過市場化、法制化的手段推進去產能。”