China’s coal imports are set to slump in December as traders and utilities wind back purchases following signals from Beijing that it will stop clearing shipments until next year, trading companies and utilities told Reuters. Coal imports by the world’s top consumer of the material used for power generation, heating and steelmaking rose in the first 10 months of 2018 to 252 million tonnes, up 11 percent from a year ago and not far below last year’s total of 279 million tonnes, according to official data. However, domestic coal prices have eased in recent months, even as China enters its peak demand season over winter, with utilities sitting on record coal stocks amid a slowdown in electricity demand growth. […]