BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s coal output in July fell to the lowest level since April 2024, data from the statistics bureau showed on Friday, the first year-on-year decline of 2025 in a sign that China’s coal output could be easing in response to oversupply.
China produced 380.99 million metric tons of coal in July, down 3.8% on the year.
Output over the first seven months of the year reached 2.78 billion metric tons, up 3.8% on the back of year-on-year increases during the first six months.
Analysts had been closely monitoring whether China would take steps to scale back production and curb oversupply, with expectations mounting that output could begin to decline from the second half of the year.
A July 20 document from the energy regulator calling for inspections at coal mines in eight provinces pushed coking coal prices to their trading limit in successive sessions on the expectation of supply disruptions.
Although it was not clear that the document represented a coordinated strategy from the central government, it bolstered expectations that supply could be more limited in the second half of the year.
(Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
