China's March coal output slumps on high stockpiles, lower demand

China's coal output fell 4.2% in March, statistics bureau data showed on Tuesday, as miners cut back production on lower demand from power generators and ample inventories of the fuel limited stockpiling. China produced 399.33-million metric tons of coal last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That brought output in the first quarter of the year to 1.11-billion tons, down 4.1% compared with the same period last year.