China’s commodity trade slowed in February as the Lunar New Year holiday crimped imports of oil, iron ore, copper and soybeans while exports of aluminum and steel fell. Inbound shipments of copper tumbled by the most in four years, soybeans to the least since October, while oil and iron ore imports slowed to the weakest in three months, according to customs data released Sunday in Beijing. Steel exports fell for the first time since August and the country shipped the smallest amount of aluminum products in four months. The slowdown in raw materials trade reflects the impact of the country’s most-important festival, when factories and output slow before and during the weeklong holiday. Total exports gained more than 48 percent from a year earlier in February, driven by a recovery in the U.S. economy. Imports slid 20.5 percent, leaving a record trade surplus of $60.6 billion. “The […]