In the January-May period this year, China’s raw coal output amounted to 1.47 billion mt, up 0.9 percent on year-on-year basis, 0.4 percentage points slower than the growth recorded in the first four months of the year, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In May alone, China’s raw coal output amounted to 320 million mt, down 0.1 percent year on year, shifting from a year-on-year rise of 6.0 percent in April.
At the same time, China imported 149 million mt of coal in the January-May period, up 16.8 percent year on year, 10.1 percentage points slower than the rising pace recorded in the first four months of the year.