Australia's shipments of iron ore to China from the world's top export hub of Port Hedland jumped to 38.7 mln tonnes in April, data from the port authority showed on Friday.
Shipments were up by 10.6% from a year earlier, although they shrank by 4.2% from March's figure of 40.43 million tonnes, the data showed. Total iron ore shipments out of the port stood at 42 million tonnes, down from March's 46.7 million tonnes, which is the third highest on record.
Port Hedland is used by three of Australia's top four iron ore miners: BHP Group , Fortescue Metals Group and Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill.
(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Tom Hogue)