Freight rates to ship coal from northern China's Qinhuangdao Port to the other Chinese ports of Zhangjiagang, Shanghai and Guangzhou fell in the week ended May 7, a weekly report released by Qinhuangdao Port Thursday showed.

The freight rate from Qinhuangdao to Zhangjiagang on a 20,000-30,000 mt vessel averaged Yuan 34/mt ($5.54/mt) in the week ended May 7, down Yuan 0.30/mt from a week ago, the report said.

The Qinhuangdao-Shanghai route for vessels with a capacity of 40,000-50,000 mt fell by Yuan 1.10/mt over the week to an average of Yuan 26.80/mt, while the freight rate to Guangzhou on 50,000-60,000 mt vessels dropped Yuan 1/mt to Yuan 37.40/mt over the same period.

Meanwhile, coal stocks at Qinhuangdao Port stood at 5.22 million mt on Wednesday, up from 4.93 million mt a week ago, but down from 5.77 million mt on April 24, 6.43 million mt on April 17, 7.08 million mt on April 10, and 7.59 million mt on April 3, port figures showed.