BEIJING, Nov 23 (Reuters) - China imported 4.09 million tonnes of coal from top supplier Australia in October, down 49.4 percent compared with the same month of last year, customs data showed on Monday.
Australian shipments have dipped 23.6 percent over the first 10 months of the year to 58.87 million tonnes, figures from the General Administration of Customs showed, hit by a downturn in demand and a massive domestic supply surplus.
Overall imports, excluding low-grade lignite, stood at 10.35 million tonnes last month, down 35.9 percent. For the first 10 months, total imports hit 129.37 million tonnes, down 31.4 percent.
Imports from Indonesia, China's second biggest supplier, inched up 0.7 percent in October to 2.13 million tonnes. They are down 39.3 percent at 23.29 million tonnes over the first 10 months, hit by Beijing's restrictions on lower grade coal.