China imported a total of 77.8 million tons of iron ore in November, the highest in 2013. The import saw an increase of 10 million tons from October and is 18.3 percent up compared to the same period of 2012, Economic Daily citied figures of the General Administration of Customs on Thursday.

The average import prices in November stood at 128.3 U.S. dollars per ton, down 0.2 percent from October.

Figures also show from January to November this year, the total imports of iron ore amounted to 746.1 million tons, growing 10.9 percent compared to the same period of last year; the average prices decreased 0.8 percent to 129.2 U.S. dollars, and the average monthly imports reached around 67.8 million tons.