Coal-fired power generation at monitored plants in China rebounded during August 13-20, with the pace of inventory drawdown narrowing, according to the latest weekly report from the China Electricity Council (CEC).

Daily power generation at these plants rose 5.8% from the previous week but fell 2.7% year on year, the CEC's fuel statistics showed.

The impact of Typhoon Dolphin largely subsided during the period, with temperatures recovering across most of the country. Cooling demand rebounded, lifting coal-fired power generation in most regions. Power output in central, northeastern and northwestern China grew more than 10% week on week, while northern and eastern China were broadly flat.

Coal burn at these plants rose 5.5% week on week but fell 0.5% year on year, with all regions except northern China posting increases. Daily coal arrivals jumped 7.2% from the previous week as transport returned to normal after the typhoon, though arrivals were still down 4.7% year on year.

Coal inventories at monitored power plants stood at 107.83 million tonnes, down 7.62% from a year earlier and 1.16% lower than on August 13. The inventories could cover 19.9 days of consumption, 1.1 days below the same period last year.

For seaborne-supplied plants, daily power generation rose 2.3% week on week and 1.2% year on year. Coal consumption increased 2.2% from the previous week and 5.0% year on year. Coal inventories at these plants grew by 820,000 tonnes from August 13, with inventory days at 17.0 days, up 0.5 day.

Cumulative power generation at these plants fell 6.6% in August as of August 20, while the year-to-date figure was down 0.7%. Coal consumption dropped 3.7% year on year in the month to August 20, with year-to-date consumption up 0.2%.

During the period, mine-mouth thermal coal prices held firm amid tight supply. Portside prices remained under pressure with a weak bias, while impo