Reuters reported that iron ore shipments to China from Australia's Port Hedland,a bellwether for Chinese industrial activity,surged 25%in December,from the previous month.
Port authority data said that China imported 20.23 million tonnes via the port in December compared with 16.17 million tonnes the previous month.Shipments were also up a hefty 21.6%on December 2011.
Iron ore prices have been in a steep ascent over the last three months,recovering from a sharp fall in July and August.Spot iron ore prices climbed to a 15 month high of USD 149.80 a tonne on Thursday thanks to demand from China,the world's largest consumer of the steel making ingredient.
The recovery in prices is a major boon to Australia as iron ore is the country's single biggest export earner.
However,total iron ore shipments from Port Hedland in December jumped 20%to almost 26 million tonnes,the highest reading on record.Japan took 2.64 million tonnes and South Korea 2.24 million tonnes.
