--FILE--techniciens chinois Sinopec de vérifier les valves et tuyaux à une station de transport de gaz naturel dans la région de Linyi, Shandong province de Chine orientale, 14 S
--FILE--Chinese technicians of Sinopec check valves and pipes at a natural gas transmission station in Zibo city, east China's Shandong province, 14 September 2015. China's steep cuts to domestic natural-gas prices are the latest sign of Beijing's desire to prop up the country's economic growth, even if that comes at the expense of major state-owned enterprises. Though a price cut had been in the cards for months, the nearly 30% reduction in average city-gate benchmark prices for natural gas announced Wednesday by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, was deeper than some analysts had forecast. City-gate prices refer to how much local gas distributors pay pipeline operators such as PetroChina Co. Those distributors should be able to pass on the lower prices to industrial gas consumers, in theory helping to stimulate China's stalling manufacturing sector. The latest move won't affect residential gas prices.
