China’s Commodity Deals Dropping as Oil, Copper Prices Rise

China, the world’s biggest user of natural resources, is pulling back from commodities and energy acquisitions as the rest of the world pursues deals at the fastest pace since the financial crisis.

China’s companies have spent $14.2 billion on acquisitions this year, down 30 percent from the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Worldwide the value of takeovers in the industry is $176 billion, the most at this time of the year since 2007. U.S. companies from Alpha Natural Resources Inc. to DuPont Co. are the largest buyers.