China’s coal production, sales drop

China’s coal sector has been hit by rising stockpiles, falling prices and declining profitability since the beginning of this year, an industry association said. Coal production dropped 1.31% year on year and sales dropped 1.29%, (Xinhua) reported citing data released by the China Coal Industry Association (CCIA). In the first quarter of 2014, coal output edged down by 1% to 878 million tons, while sales declined 1.4% to 844 million tonnes, the data showed. Coal stockpiles at the end of last month totaled more than 300 million tonnes for the 29th consecutive month, according to the association.