LONDON, Jul 29 -- Global stainless steel production is expected to slow in the third quarter compared with the average in the first half of the year, French metals and mining group Eramet SA (ERA.FR) said Thursday.

According to the company, which earlier reported a net profit of EUR175 million in the first six months of the year, global production of stainless steel rose 40% year-on-year in the period.

Output rose 28% in China and 48% in the rest of the world, Eramet said.

Stainless steel is the key consuming industry for nickel, a metal that Eramet produces at operations in New Caledonia.