China June coal output dips to lowest since October

China produced 298 million tonnes of coal in June, down 1.4 percent to an eight-month low, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, as government checks on heavy industry aimed at cutting pollution curbed mining of the fuel.

Year-on-year output was up 1.7 percent, the bureau said.

Output over the first six months of the year reached 1.7 billion tonnes, up 3.9 percent compared with the same period of last year.

In recent months, miners have ramped up output as heatwaves across southern China and strong growth in power consumption in industrial sectors fuelled demand for coal-fired power.

The production of coke used in steelmaking fell 4.7 percent in June to 36.13 million tonnes, with year-to-date output reaching 212.0 million tonnes, down 3.2 percent.

Source: REUTERS