China: Raw coal output rebounds to four-month high in Sep’26

• Coal output rises 6% m-o-m in Sep as mining operations resume
• Output remains 7% y-o-y lower, Jan-Sep production drops 4% y-o-y

China’s raw coal production during September recovered from the slump seen recently to reach the highest monthly level since May, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data published on Monday. The jump in output followed the calls made in mid-September by central and provincial government authorities for production to resume in those mines where work was suspended and for coal supplies to be stabilised.

During last month, China’s raw coal production reached 385.13 million tonnes, up 6.4% from August and marking the highest monthly volume in four months, according to the NBS data. Compared with September last year though, output was still lower by 6.8%.

Domestic coal production has languished since late May, as work in many mines had been ordered suspended for safety inspections following the fatal mine explosion in North China’s Shanxi province on 19 May, China’s deadliest coal-mining accident in 17 years, as Mysteel Global reported.

Continued supply disruptions, however, have largely limited coal availability in the Chinese market, leading to surges in domestic coking coal prices over the past few months. Compared with the beginning of June, Mysteel’s benchmark price for the Chinese coking coal market — Mysteel Coking Coal Index (MCCI) — had jumped by RMB 813.8/tonne ($121.8/t) to peak at RMB 2,277.5/t with the 13% VAT on 10 September, according to Mysteel’s assessment.

Against this background, in a joint statement on 18 September, three top authorities related to the coal mining sector, including China’s National Development and Reform Commission, had called for accelerated restarts on suspended mines to ensure adequate coal supplies nationwide. Since then, administrators in major coal mining regions have issued similar instructions to coal miners within their jurisdiction.

Last week, the top economic planner of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province — China’s third-largest coal-producing region — visited a leading state-run coal group of the province, also calling on them to ensure “stable coal production” while prioritising safety, as reported. Similar actions were also seen in North China’s Shanxi province and Inner Mongolia in response to Beijing’s call.

Nevertheless, the jump in September output was not enough to offset the decline so far this year, with the NBS data showing that during January-September, China’s cumulative raw coal production totalled 3.45 billion tonnes, down 3.5% from the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, China’s production of coke for all uses reached 39.04 million tonnes in September, down 2.2% on month and 8.2% on year. Over January-September, the cumulative output totalled 373.16 million tonnes, down 0.7% on year, the NBS data also showed.

Note: The article is published as part of a content sharing agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.