great for trading around this level. fundamentally they could be...

great for trading around this level. fundamentally they could be big if the cards fall right:

China's iron ore imports surged to a new record in March, its transportation ministry said on Wednesday, the latest sign of tumbling spot prices and relatively strong domestic demand in the world's largest steel producer.

China imported a record 51 million tonnes of iron ore in March, preliminary data from the ministry showed, taking total purchases in the first quarter to 130.5 million tonnes, up 18 percent from a year earlier.

China will release official March trade figures later this week or early next week.

The rise mirrored Chinese steelmakers' increasing reliance on imported ore, analysts said, though mills are still locked in annual price talks with global mining majors BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto and Vale .

"Recovery in production and lowering spot prices of imported iron ore drove steelmakers to buy more in the first quarter," said Macquarie Bank analyst Henry Liu.

"The concentrated purchases in a concentrated period squeezed domestic iron ore miners' margins, pushing some of them out of business. Then steel mills had to buy imports," Liu said.

Already spot iron ore prices are quoted below Chinese local prices because of falling freight rates and rising domestic mining costs, forcing around 70 percent of China's mining capacity out of operation.