US coal production totaled about 18.8 million st in the week that ended Saturday, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday.
The production estimate is 5.8% higher than the previous week's estimate and 2.1% higher than in the comparable week in 2013, EIA said.
Production east of the Mississippi River totaled 7.3 million st in the most recent week, while output west of the Mississippi totaled 11.5 million st, the agency said.
US year-to-date coal production totaled 10.5 million st, 8% lower than in the comparable period in 2013, it said.
In December, US coal production totaled about 82.8 million st, EIA said.
This estimate is 3.2% higher than the estimate for the same month in 2012, it said.
December's production total for the region east of the Mississippi was 34.6 million st while output west of the Mississippi totaled 48.2 million st, it added.