CHINA has reported its coal imports rose by 17% in May as its economy bounced back.

Purchases of coal by China increased to 11M tonnes in May, compared with the same month in 2009. Imports reached a record 16.4M tonnes in December, according to Bloomberg.

China has not been immune to higher import coal prices, paying an average of $109/tonne for the commodity in May, $32/tonne more than May 2009. Benchmark coal prices at Qinhuangdao, China's largest coal import port, stood at $111/tonne on 21 June.

China's coal imports in 1Q10 more than tripled to 44.4M tonnes. A total of 126M tonnes of coal was imported last year, with Indonesia the largest supplier, followed by Australia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Russia.

Bloomberg said Indonesian shipments to China cost $74 a tonne on a delivered basis, while Colombian shipments cost $112 a tonne, Australia's were $164/tonne and Russia’s supplies came in at $138/tonne.