Industry group expects coal demand to continue decline in 2017

An industry group forecast Tuesday that China's coal demand would continue to shrink in 2017 and urged major producers to help stabilize the market.

China National Coal Association (CNCA) made the projection, based on consideration of China's economic growth, energy structure adjustment, environmental constraints and industrial restructuring.

Although the industry's performance improved last year, the association said the recovery was not yet solid while coal prices remained under increasing downward pressure.

Major coal enterprises reported combined profits of 109.09 billion yuan (15.81 billion U.S. dollars) last year, more than triple from 2015, according to CNCA statistics.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed raw coal output of major coal producers fell 9.4 percent year on year in 2016 to 3.36 billion tonnes, with the pace of decline accelerating from the 3.5 percent fall registered in 2015.

China, the world's largest coal producer and consumer, is trying to slash coal capacity as excessive supply weighs on the economy and smog pollutes big cities.

The country plans to shut down at least 500 outdated coal mines in 2017, reducing capacity by 50 million tonnes. Endi