Freight rates for shipping coal from northern China's Qinhuangdao port to the southern Chinese ports of Zhangjiagang, Shanghai and Guangzhou continued to rise for the fifth consecutive week, a weekly report released by Qinhuangdao port Wednesday showed.

For the week ended March 18, freight rates from Qinhuangdao to Zhangjiagang for 20,000-30,000 mt capacity vessels averaged Yuan 44.20/mt ($7.13/mt), up Yuan 3.50/mt from the previous week, the report said.

The rate for a Qinhuangdao-Shanghai voyage for vessels with a capacity of 40,000-50,000 mt rose Yuan 4.30/mt week on week to an average of Yuan 41.70/mt and the freight rate from Qinhuangdao to Guangzhou for 50,000-60,000 mt vessels jumped by Yuan 6.60/mt to Yuan 52.10/mt, the report said.

Meanwhile, coal stocks at Qinhuangdao port stood at 6.62 million mt as of March 18, down from 7.16 million mt a week ago and down from 7.39 million mt on March 5, port figures showed.