Dow Jones quoted Ms Liu Fan zinc analyst with state-owned metals consultancy Antaike said Zinc smelters are beginning to reduce their level of production cuts as zinc prices appear to have found a bottom. Ms Liu Fan said Smelters cut production to around 70% of capacity in November and December, well below the average level of 81.5% of capacity for 2008. She said that "Going by the data, November was the worst month for production cuts. But from December output data, we can see some recovery.” Ms Liu said among sizable smelters, Huludao Zinc Industry Co’s production cuts were negligible in 2008, while Zhuzhou Smelter Group was estimated to have cut about 15,000 tons of output last year. She agreed with private sector estimates that Yunnan Luoping Zinc & Electricity Co may have cut about 15,000 tons since November. Officials at the three companies could not be reached for comment on these figures. But Ms Liu said smelters have been gradually restoring output since December. She estimated that zinc smelters produced 3.91m tons or 81.5% of an aggregated capacity of 4.8m tons in 2008. Ms Liu said while November output reached about 300,000 tons December’s production increased to around 315,000 tons. She said that smelters produced an average of 325,000 tons a month in 2008. In January, zinc smelters produced around 300,000 tons, though she said the decrease from December should factor in the week-long Lunar New Year break.