China’s coal imports soared in January, more than tripling from the prior month to 33.5 million tonnes, but there are compelling reasons to treat this outcome with caution, including weakness in benchmark Australian coal prices. Cranes unload coal from a cargo ship at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China December 8, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer January’s coal imports were the highest in five years, rising 228 percent from the weak 10.23 million tonnes reported for December. It’s a characteristic of commodity markets that there isn’t always a straight line between supply and demand and prices, and the resurgent buying by the world’s top importer of the polluting fuel is a case in point. It’s always worth being cautious about commodity imports around the Lunar New Year festival, as the week-long holiday in China tends to distort the data in the first two months of the year. […]