China's coal imports bounced back in December as domestic demand for the fuel surged during the harsh early winter.

China's raw coal output rose 0.1 percent year on year to 3.13 billion tonnes in the first 10 months of 2020, official data showed.

China's raw coal output declined 0.1 percent year-on-year to 2.79 billion tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, official data showed.

Japan's coking coal imports rose in July on the back of a recovery in steel output, mainly from auto manufacturing demand.

US coal exports fell from year-earlier levels in July as a drop in thermal coal shipments outweighed an increase in metallurgical volumes.

The sharp decline, said the Mongolian Customs General Administration, is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

European coal imports inched up from April's three-decade low, but were still sharply down on the year in May.

German imports will be 16-30pc down on the year in 2020, according to importers' association VDKI.