Coal sales totaled 842 million tons in the same period, up 6.2 percent, said sources from a national coal order-placing fair opened Friday in Xiamen, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province.

The country's coal inventory now stands at 125 million tons, a decrease of 18.95 million tons from the beginning of the year, said the sources.

An official with the State Economic and Trade Commission said that the state is meeting its goal to regulate coal production and price. Coal prices are rebounding in China this year, after falling from 166.6 yuan per ton in 1997 to about 140 yuan per ton by year-end of 2000. The price rebound was attributed to the state 's decision to shut down a great number of small coal mines across the country.

(People's Daily December 29, 2001)