China imported 62.16m tonnes of iron ore in December, a year-on-year increase of 80 per cent and the second highest volume on record, the General Administration of Customs announced.
The import total was also up 22 per cent on the previous month.

For the whole of 2009, China imported 627.78m tonnes of iron ore, up 42 per cent on 2008. China is the world's biggest importer of iron ore, sourcing most of its supplies from Australia, Brazil and India.