BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China's raw coal output rose in 2017 due to rebounding demand and high-quality capacity, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Monday.

In 2017, the output of raw coal stood at 3.52 billion tonnes, up 3.3 percent from the previous year, the NBS said in a statement.

The reading marks the first positive growth since 2014, after the 2016 figure hit a six-year low.

China's crude oil output dropped 4.1 percent year on year to 191.5 million tonnes in 2017.

The decline eased by 2.8 percentage points from the drop in 2016, NBS data showed.

In contrast, natural gas output grew 8.2 percent year on year to hit 148 billion cubic meters, 6.5 percentage points higher than last year's growth.

The increase was driven by vigorous domestic demand for natural gas, after coal consumption dropped and coal-to-gas heating conversion projects proceeded, according to the NBS.

China's imports of crude oil surged beyond 400 million tonnes in 2017, while imports of natural gas rose 26.9 percent year on year to 94.6 billion cubic meters, according to the General Administration of Customs.