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* Exports from Newcastle tumbled 18.3 pct in week to Jan. 13
* Chinese buyers retreat as inventories at power plants rise
* Domestic Chinese coal prices drop
SYDNEY, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australian thermal coal prices dipped in the past week, with exports from Newcastle down nearly a fifth, as demand from top buyer China tapered off ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Australia's Newcastle weekly spot index fell to $82.05 per tonne on Friday from $83.54 on Jan. 9, data from the online trading platform globalCOAL showed.
"Chinese buyers are retreating from the market because of the holiday coming up and also as inventories at power plants rise," a commodities trader in Sydney said.
The New Year holiday in China marks the world's biggest yearly migration as more than half of the country's 1.3 billion people return to their native places to celebrate the occasion, bringing many businesses and factories to a standstill.
Australian thermal coal shipments from Newcastle port tumbled 18.3 percent to 2.68 million tonnes in the week to Jan. 13, according to Newcastle Port Corp.
China's coal demand was already showing signs of weakness last month, with stockpiles at major ports rising, shorter ship backlogs and domestic freight rates falling.
Domestic Chinese coal prices on the Bohai-Bay Rim Steam Coal Index dropped to about 602 yuan per tonne on Jan. 15, from 610 yuan on Jan. 6, according to data by industry portal SXCOAL.
Chinese power plant burn levels dropped 10 percent between Jan. 1-10, from the previous 10-day period, to 4.2 million tonnes a day, according to Australia & New Zealand Bank commodities researchers.
Coal deliveries to power plants were up 1.6 percent for the same period, suggesting power plant stocks may be on the rise, creating additional near-term downside for thermal coal prices, the bank said.
Keywords: COAL ASIA/