Coal consumption posts strong growth on back of power generation demand

China's energy consumption experienced continuous rebound during the first three quarters in 2018, National Energy Administration announced on Tuesday, releasing major statistics on coal, oil, natural gas and electricity consumption.

Coal consumption grew fast in the first three quarters, mostly driven by the growth of coal consumption for power generation. Coal consumed in electricity, steel, chemicals and construction material industries all increased, according to preliminary statistics, and coal used to produce electricity took up 53.9 percent of the total coal consumed during the period, about 2.3 percentage points higher than the same period of last year, the administration said.

Apparent consumption of oil in the first nine months of 2018 rose 3.4 percent year-on-year, while refined oil products consumption continued to grow at a low and medium speed, among which gasoline consumption increased slightly, diesel consumption remained stable, and kerosene consumption increased rapidly.

The apparent consumption of natural gas in the first three quarters increased 16.7 percent year on year, and the growth rate decreased 0.8 percentage points compared with that in last year.

Electricity consumption also rose rapidly. In the first three quarters, electricity consumed in China increased 8.9 percent year-on-year, and the growth rate increased 2 percentage points over that in last year, a record high in six years.