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Sparking the fears was a report in the China Securities Journal which quoted an unnamed source at a medium-sized bank as saying the China Banking Regulatory Commission had asked several banks to stop extending new loans for the rest of January, according to Xinhua.
The commission’s chairman, Liu Mingkang, has since denied the report to the official newsagency but did say bank lending in China would fall from 9.5 trillion yuan last year to 7.5 trillion yuan ($US1.1 trillion) in 2010.
Official Chinese statistics released yesterday revealed the country’s coal production increased 25.1% year-on-year to 280 million tons in December.
China’s electricity output, chiefly driven by coal-fired power plants, increased 25.9% over the previous December, which was during the harsher times of the global financial crisis.
Of Australia-listed coal producers, Aquila Resources’ shares took the biggest hit, plummeting 7.87% yesterday to close at $9.95.
For the explorers, Bowen Energy shares dived 15.45% to close at 9.3c.
Most coal-related stocks posted losses with the notable exceptions of Coal & Allied and Tiaro Coal.
Gujarat NRE Minerals closed down 6% to 70.5c, Centennial Coal lost 5.43% to $3.83, Whitehaven Coal fell 4.29% to $4.91, Macarthur Coal dropped 3.64% to $10.59 and New Hope shed 3.21% to $4.52.
Companies servicing the coal industry were not immune, with Industrea shares closing down 3.41% to 42.5c, AJ Lucas Group dropping 5.63% to $3.69, Every Day Mine Services sinking 3.1% to 15.5c and Sedgman shares falling 1.96% to $1.50.
BHP Billiton lost 1.7% to close at $42.67, while rival Rio Tinto had a 3.19% haircut with its shares closing at $75.55.
African player Riversdale Mining lost 5.01% to close at $7.96 yesterday; Coal of Africa shares performed better, shedding 2.24% to $2.18.
Gloucester Coal declined 3.76% to $8.70 even though 87.71% of the company is held by commodities trader Noble Group, while Cockatoo Coal closed down 3.45% to 42c and Northern Energy shares fell 3.57% to hit $1.35.
Despite the stock market woes, China’s import coal demand is expected to grow this month as a cold snap hinders the nation’s coal supply chain.
