Iron ore exports to China from Australia’s Port Hedland, which accounts for about a fifth of the globally traded market, rocketed 27 percent in March versus February to 27 million tonnes amid signs of a price recovery for the steelmaking raw material. Overall shipments in March were up 24 percent to 34.4 million tonnes, data from the Port Hedland Port Authority showed, with shipments to South Korea up 57 percent. The data also showed even Spain, not a typical buyer of Australian iron ore, imported 165,000 tonnes in March. Spot iron ore is set to end the week with its biggest gain in more than seven months as firmer steel prices in China spur more sales to China. Iron ore has recovered 10 percent from a 17-month trough below $105 hit in early March, which traders attributed to slowing demand from steel mills and swelling inventories at Chinese ports. “Looking back, all those tonnes shipped in March were made at a good price,” said a commodities trader in Sydney. Iron ore for immediate delivery to China <.IO62-CNI=SI> stood at $115.50 a tonne, according to Steel Index. Iron ore still remains down nearly 14 percent for the year. Stocks of imported iron ore at Chinese ports stood at a record 108.45 million tonnes <SH-TOT-IRONINV> last week, up by a quarter so far this year, based on data from industry consultancy Steelhome. Part of the rise in March can be explained by weak data for the shorter month of February, which also saw heavy rains temporarily suspend some operations in the Pilbara iron belt, where the port’s top two users, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group, ship around 80 million tonnes a quarter. BHP is expanding capacity at its mines, suggesting shipments will continue to rise at least through the April-October dry season. Fortescue is operating at its maximum annualised run rate of 155 million tonnes. Shipments to South Korea in March reached nearly 4.1 million tonnes against 2.6 million in February, according to the port. Shipments to Japan fell by 754,000 tonnes in March to just over 2 million tonnes, it said. (Additional reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Richard Pullin)