BEIJING: China’s coal imports from Russia fell 13% in August, customs data showed on Friday, as sanctions continued to weigh.

Russia’s coal shipments to China last month were 8.7 million metric tons, according to the General Administration of Customs, the lowest level since April. Russian companies’ hurdles to conducting transactions with China intensified in August after Chinese banks tightened compliance following Western threats of secondary sanctions, Russian sources have said.

Russia’s energy minister said earlier this month that Russia’s coal shipments to China are at a plateau and no “sharp growth” is expected. For the year to date, Russian shipments were down 10% year-on-year at 63.1 million tons.