China's coal stockpile reached 125 million tons in the first seven months this year, up 10 million tons from the previous month and 21.49 million tons from the beginning of the year, according to the Coal Transport and Sales Association.

The current coal stockpile equals 15 to 18 days of consumption, a reasonable level, said Monday's China Securities Journal.

Due to the rising stockpile, the price of coal began to fall slightly, it said.

In the first seven months, China's coal production increased by 8.8 percent year on year to 1,119 million tons, and coal sales grew by 10.2 percent to 1,070 million tons, figures from the Coal Transport and Sales Association show.

The stable growth of coal production is related to the adequate coal stockpile, the newspaper said, predicting the coal price would continue to drop.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2005)