"To reach carbon neutrality by 2050, I am calling for all countries to stop building new coal power plants and for partners to stop financing them," said the secretary-general.

Australia's iron ore exports rose in September from a year earlier and were 3.9pc up for January-September.

China's benchmark power coal price rose slightly during the past week.

The UK steel industry can expect a less severe outcome from the second lockdown planned for England from Nov. 5.

With more than 10,000 registered coal traders, the CTCTC is the largest coal trading center in China.

Queensland shipped around 16.3mn t in October, according to initial shipping data compiled by Argus.

China's raw coal output declined 0.1 percent year-on-year to 2.79 billion tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, official data showed.

China's top economic planner has approved a coal mine construction project in the city of Yulin, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.