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China's daily coal output hits record high in November to meet heating demand

An aerial view shows machinery working in an open-pit coal mine in Ejin Horo Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, October 19, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. China Daily via REUTERS

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SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - China's daily coal output hit an all time high in November as miners increased operations to meet higher demand for heating despite the logistics problems and resulting stock builds caused by Beijing's heavy-handed zero-COVID curbs.

China churned out about 390 million tonnes of coal last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday, equivalent to 13.04 million tonnes per day.

That leapfrogged the previous peak of 12.89 million tonnes in September, and was up from 12.36 million tonnes a year before.

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Production over the January-November period was 4.09 billion tonnes, 9.7% higher than in the same period a year earlier, the bureau's data showed.

The increased coal output followed repeated calls from the central government to keep energy supplies steady through the winter. Northern China began its four-month heating season from mid-November and most heating facilities are fueled by coal.