The growth in China's coal demand is expected to keep slowing during the second quarter partly because of the domestic economic deceleration, an expert said Sunday.

Supply and demand will continue to be roughly balanced in the country's coal market during the second quarter, Wang Xianzheng, chairman of the China Coal Industry Association, said at a meeting.

Wang said coal companies should pay great attention to the increases in the country's coal output and a slowdown in demand as well as properly regulate production to prevent big changes in the coal market.

The nation's coal demand has faltered since the fourth quarter of last year as the country's economic growth decelerated amid the sluggish global economic recovery and the ongoing eurozone debt crisis.

China's coal output reached 838 million tonnes during the first quarter, up 5.8 percent year-on-year, official data showed.

Wang said coal prices also retreated during the past few months on waning demand.

The coal industry should be alert of structural overcapacity, and establish long-term relations with power generation companies and steel plants in order to promote the steady development of the coal economy.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2012)