China power firms suspend publication of coal data

The publication of daily coal consumption data from China's main power companies, which is widely used by economists to gauge industrial output and broad economic activity, has been suspended after the electricity providers stopped reporting their numbers.

The decision to stop releasing data for five major power generation groups, which supply information from 56 coal-fired power plants, comes as analysts scramble for clues about the speed of China's economic recovery following the COVID-19 shock earlier this year.

Qinhuangdao Port, a major coal trading hub in northern China, stopped giving daily updates on coal consumption and inventory at the beginning of this month after Huaneng, Huadian, Datang, Shanghai Electric Power and Guangdong Energy Group stopped sharing the data.

The electricity generation firms did not provide a reason for the change, but some analysts said it could be related to surging coal prices, which increase the costs for power plants.

.Asian Metal CopyrightThe publication of daily coal consumption data from China's main power companies, which is widely used by economists to gauge industrial output and broad economic activity, has been suspended after the electricity providers stopped reporting their numbers.Asian Metal Copyright