THE country’s coal output rose 15% in March from the same month a year ago, with daily production climbing to a record, as the government urged miners to crank up operations to ensure steady market supply. China churned out 395.79 million tons of coal last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed yesterday, equivalent to 12.77 million tons per day. That compares with 10.99 million tons per day in March 2021, and 11.64 million tons per day for the first two months of 2022. China has targeted daily coal production at 12.6 million tons this year. Output over the first quarter of the year reached 1.08 billion tons, up 10% year on year, NBS data showed. Coal inventories at major utilities in eight coastal provinces totaled 28.18 million tons in early April, according to analysts from Changjiang Securities, about 6 million tons higher than the same period last year. China also boosted gas output to record levels in March, with natural gas output rising 6.3% to 19.7 billion cubic meters, according to NBS data. Crude output rose 3.9% to 17.71 million tons, its best level since December 2015. China’s aluminum production in March rose 1.8% from a year earlier, official data showed, increasing to the highest since last May.(SD-Agencies) | 