BEIJING — The growth of China's raw coal production slowed down in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Around 320 million tons of raw coal was produced last month, up 5 percent year-on-year, compared with the 12.2-percent rise in July, according to the NBS.

The country imported 32.95 million tons of coal in August, up 14.9 percent year-on-year, a faster growth than the 13.4-percent increase in July.

In the first eight months of the year, the country produced 2.41 billion tons of raw coal, up 4.5 percent, while coal imports hit 220.28 million tons, up 8.1 percent.

Coal prices remained basically stable, with the transaction price of Qinhuangdao 5,500 kcal/kg thermal coal standing at 569 yuan ($80) per ton on Sept 6, down eight yuan from the beginning of August, the NBS data showed.