China’s crude oil imports hit a record high in April as falling prices encouraged stockpiling, but coal imports plunged and shipments of other commodities generally eased on a year earlier amid a sluggish economy. China’s exports unexpectedly fell 6.4 percent for the month, while imports tumbled by a deeper-than-forecast 16.2 percent, fueling expectations that Beijing will quickly roll out more stimulus to avert a sharper economic slowdown. China, the world’s second-largest crude oil buyer, imported a higher-than-expected 7.4 million barrels per day in April, up 8.6 percent on a year ago, as oil firms built up stocks despite tepid underlying refined fuel demand, especially for diesel. With oil prices down 40 percent from last June’s highs, China has been adding to its strategic reserves, although some analysts say imports may now pull back as the country starts to run out of storage space. Coal imports by the world’s […]