Chinese iron ore imports in January surge by 43pct YoY Sunday, 21 Feb 2010
China Knowledge quoted statistics released by China General Administration of Customs said China imported 46.62 million tonnes of iron ore in January, 43% more than the 32.65 million tonnes it imported in the same month of last year.
The January imports reflect a 25% decline from December, when the nation's iron ore imports totaled 62.16 million tonnes.
Last month, the country steel exports dropped by 450,000 tonnes to 2.89 million tonnes while steel imports declined by 130,000 tons to 1.35 million tonnes.
In 2009, China imported 627.78 million tonnes of iron ore, 41.6% more than in the previous year. China's steel exports plunged 58.5%year on year to 14.60 tonnes while imports rose 14.3% from a year earlier to 17.63 million tonnes