BEIJING (Scrap Register): China’s iron ore imports rose for a third straight month in September to a 20-month high, according to customs data.

China, the world’s top iron ore consumer brought in 99.36 million tonnes of the mineral last month, up 4.8% from 94.85 million tonnes in August and compared with 93.47 million tonnes a year earlier.

For the first nine months of the year, arrivals of the key steelmaking ingredient totaled 784 million tonnes, down 2.4% from 803.34 million tonnes in the same period a year ago.