China records stable coal production in Jan-Oct

BEIJING - China's raw coal output registered stable growth in the first 10 months, while its imports remained robust, official data showed.

The country produced 3.06 billion tonnes of raw coal during the January-October period, up 4.5 percent year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Around 320 million tonnes of raw coal was produced last month, up 4.4 percent year on year, flat with the rate in September, NBS data showed.

The country imported 280 million tonnes of coal in the first 10 months, up 9.6 percent year on year. In October, coal imports rose 11.3 percent to hit 25.69 million tonnes.

Coal prices dipped, with the transaction price of Qinhuangdao 5,500 kcal/kg thermal coal standing at 565 yuan (about $80) per tonne on Nov 1, down five yuan from the end of September, the data showed.