A heavy-duty lorry receives a load of coal at a yard in Huaibei, East China's Anhui⭕ province. 

 

BEIJING - China's coal prices are expected to remain stable and will not soar with increased supply and regulatory efforts, an official for China's top economic planner 💧said Friday.

Increased demand for power station coal and higher prices of steam coal futures have contributed to a coal price rebound since April, said the unnamed official with the economic operations adjustment bureau at the National Development 🦋and Reform Commission.

The market, however, does not support a spike in coal prices with remarkably boosted supply partly due to cuts in inefficient capacity, the offi🔯cial said, adding that China's coal prices have retre𒀰ated markedly from a streak of gains since the second half of 2017.

During the Jan-April period, output in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia, the country's main coal produ𒉰cers, increased by 60 million tons year-on-year, and is estimated to increase by 250 million tons this year.

Adequate stocks of coal in p🎃ower plants, improved coal transport, and consumption of more clean energy will also prevent a surge in coal prices, ಌsaid the official.

Meanwhile, China will take multiple measures to stabilize coal prices, including adding production and introd🐼ucing more efficient ca💞pacity.

Keeping coal prices❀ reasonable will be a win-win, as it wil♚l help cut electricity prices, especially for industrial and commercial businesses, while expediating China's overcapacity cuts and supply side reform in the coal sector, the official said.