China Quake May Cut Energy Use, Boost Food Inflation (Update1)
By Rob Delaney and Wang Ying
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- China's strongest earthquake in 58 years may cut the nation's energy demand as damaged power plants and transmission lines force companies to idle generators.
About 5.5 gigawatts, almost 1 percent of the nation's generation capacity, were idled in the provinces of Shaanxi and Sichuan after yesterday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, according to a report by the official Xinhua News Agency, citing data from State Grid Corp. of China. Sichuan, where the quake was focused, lost 4 gigawatts of capacity.
``This earthquake in China may impact demand from power plants being down,'' Phil Flynn, a senior trader at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. ``Demand for oil was already down in April.'' |
