BEIJING: China’s coal output dipped 2.8 per cent in July from a month earlier, hitting the lowest level since May 2019, as stringent mine safety checks across the country curbed production in the face of soaring prices and increased demand from power plants.
The world’s biggest coal producer and consumer churned out 314.17 million tonnes of coal last month, compared with 323.19 million tonnes in June and down 3.3 per cent from July last year, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed.
The NBS did not disclose separate output data for January and February.
Over the first seven months of the year, coal output was 2.26 billion tonnes, up 4.9 per cent year-on-year.
The government is striving to strike a balance between increasing supplies to cool record coal prices and improving mine safety. In July, local media reported more than 20 mines in major coal hub Shaanxi province were shut for safety checks after a flooding accident.
Benchmark Qinhuangdao thermal coal prices rose 11 per cent in July and hit a record high of 1,090 yuan ($168.34) a tonne on Aug. 5, buoyed by robust demand from the power sector as 17 regions across China reported their highest-ever electricity load amid extreme hot weather.
China has granted extensions of trial operations at 15 coal mines, totalling 43.5 million tonnes, and resumed production at 38 open-pit coal mines in the major mining hub of Inner Mongolia, with annual capacity of 66.7 million tonnes.
Strong demand will also encourage qualified coal mines to expand production capacity to further boost output of the dirty fossil fuel.
The state planner on Wednesday said China’s coal output increased significantly in early August, and coal supply has exceeded coal consumption at coal plants as weather starts to cool.
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