China’s Coal Imports Post Biggest Annual Drop as Soybeans Climb

China’s coal purchases fell the most in a decade last year, posting the steepest drop among imports of major commodities due to an abundance of cheaper alternatives and a rare contraction in thermal power generation.

Natural gas and copper metal also saw annual declines, according to Chinese customs data on Wednesday, bucking the bias for imports to rise to support economic growth. Copper ore showed the biggest gain, followed by soybeans, a key counter in China’s trade dispute with the US.