China’s March coal output slips

BEIJING: China’s coal output fell 4.2% in March, statistics bureau data showed on Tuesday, amid oversupply and weak demand.

China produced 399.33 million metric tons of coal last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That brought output in the first quarter of the year to 1.11 billion tons, down 4.1% compared with the same period last year.

Domestic coal prices fell in March on oversupply and weak demand from marginal consumers in the steel and cement sectors as property development lags in China. However, power sector demand, the main driver for Chinese coal consumption, remained stable.

Production fell 18% in China’s top coal producing hub of Shanxi during January and February after a string of deadly accidents forced mines to halt operations, but output had at least partially recovered by March.