BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's output of raw coal maintained stable growth in October, expanding 8 percent year on year to 310 million tonnes.

The growth rate accelerated from the 5.2-percent growth rate in September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

China saw raw coal output rise in the three biggest coal production areas last month, with that of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region up 12.9 percent, Shanxi Province up 13.3 percent and Shaanxi Province up 14 percent, data from the NBS shows.

China also picked up the pace in coal imports, from a 7.3-percent year-on-year decrease in September to an 8.5-percent year-on-year increase in October.

The coal data was also released with other energy indicators.

China's crude oil imports saw a sharp increase in October, surging 31.5 percent year on year to 40.8 million tonnes, with the daily import rate reaching a new record high of 1.32 million tonnes.

Crude oil output saw a slight increase of 0.3 percent year on year in October, reaching 16.09 million tonnes.

Natural gas output saw a 6.3-percent year-on-year rise to 129.5 billion cubic meters in the first 10 months of this year.

From January to October, China imported 72.06 million tonnes of natural gas, with an increase of 33.1 percent year on year.