BEIJING, July 13 (Reuters) - China, the world's largest coal buyer, imported 21.6 million tonnes of coal in June, down from a month ago, preliminary customs data showed on Thursday.
The General Administration of Customs released the June data without giving any percentage changes. Based on May import figures of 22.19 million tonnes, June imports were down 2.7 percent from a month earlier, according to Reuters calculations.
Based on June 2016 imports of 21.75 million tonnes, last month's imports were 0.7 percent lower than a year ago, Reuters calculations showed.
For the first six months of the year, coal arrivals rose 23.5 percent from the same period a year earlier to 133.26 million tonnes, according to the customs data. TRADE/CN
Coal imports likely fell after Beijing asked utilities in May to reduce their purchases of overseas coal by 5 percent to 10 percent this year in an effort to restrict low-quality imports, according to a report. coal import numbers include lignite, a type of coal with lower heating value that is largely supplied by Indonesia.