China's raw coal output expanded by 0.9 percent year on year in 2020, while its coal imports increased 1.5 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
A total of 3.84 billion tonnes of raw coal were produced in China last year, registering a year-on-year growth of 90 million tonnes, according to the NBS data.
In December alone, the raw coal output rose 3.2 percent from a year ago to 350 million tonnes, 1.7 percentage points higher than the increase seen in November.
The country imported 304 million tonnes of coal in 2020, up 4 million from a year earlier. In December, coal imports rose 27.32 million tonnes from November to reach 39.08 million tonnes.
Coal prices saw a surge, with the transaction price of Qinhuangdao 5,500 kcal/kg thermal coal standing at 642 yuan (about 99 U.S. dollars) per tonne on Dec. 25, up 56 yuan from Nov. 27, the data showed.
Editor: Galia
