(Adds details and background) BEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) -...

(Adds details and background)

BEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) - China's iron ore imports in November climbed 3.4% from October, customs data showed on Thursday, as improved steel mill margins and an appreciating yuan underpinned buying of the key steelmaking ingredient.

The world's largest iron ore consumer brought in 102.74 million metric tons of the key steelmaking ingredient last month, up from 99.39 million tons in October, data from the country's General Administration of Customs showed.

The volume compared to 98.85 million tons imported in November 2022.

The November imports stayed at an elevated level for the fourth consecutive month, and came as more than a third of steel mills surveyed were operating at a profit by the end of the month, versus less than one-fifth in late October, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.

"While consumption exhibited monthly decline, inventories at mills increased thanks to restocking," said Chu Xinli, a Shanghai-based analyst at China Futures.

Iron ore inventories at mills surveyed jumped by 3.5% on the month to 93.02 million tons in late November, although the daily average hot metal output among mills surveyed declined by 3% on the month to 2.37 million tons last month, Mysteel data showed.

China's yuan CNY=CFXS appreciated 2.5% against the U.S. dollar in November.

China's iron ore imports in the first 11 months of 2023 jumped 6.2% to 1.08 billion tons, the customs data also showed.

China's exports of steel products in November rose 43.3% from the prior year to 8.01 million tons, and 0.88% higher from 7.94 million tons shipped abroad in October, customs data showed.

Total steel exports from the world's largest steel producer were 82.66 million tons from January to November, a rise of 35.6% year-on-year.

China imported 614,000 tons of steel products last month, down from 750,000 tons in November 2022, with the total over the January-November period at 6.98 million tons, down 29.2% from a year earlier, according to the customs data.