China’s coal production growth slows
China produced 940 million tons of coal in the first half of 2005, 9.7 percent or 82.92 million tons higher year on year. The 2005 first half numbers signal a slowdown in the growth of China's coal output, which had grown 15 percent year on year during the first half of 2004. State-owned coal mines produced 493 million tons of coal during the first half of 2005, 10.3 percent more than the same period in 2004. On the flip side, production in mines owned by local governments decreased 3.25 percent to 142 million tons. Sales of coal increased 11 percent year on year to 915 million tons, and coal inventories increased by nearly the same factor to reach 115 million tons by the end of June. At the same time, coal exports decreased 31.8 percent to 30 million tons. The average commercial quality coal price during the first half of 2005 rose 26.7 percent to RMB 261.55 ($31.60) per ton.