Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that the country imported a total of 383.64 million tons of coal from January to October this year, a year-on-year increase of 66.8 percent.

The Asian country exported 31.7 million tons of coal last year.

World crude steel production for the 71 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 150.0 million tonnes (Mt) in October 2023, a 0.6% increase compared to October 2022.

The world's largest steel producer manufactured 79.09 million metric tons of the ferrous metal last month, down 3.7%from 82.11 million tons in September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

China's bulk commodity imports expanded in the first nine months of 2023, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

China's iron ore imports remained firm in September, marking the third-highest volumes so far this year, although it fell from the near three-year high in August.

World crude steel production for the 63 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 152.6 million tonnes (Mt) in August 2023, a 2.2% increase compared to August 2022.

Over January-August, China's exports of semi-finished and finished steel increased by 30.6% on the year to 60.977 million mt.