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China's import volume of bulk commodities declined by 0.5 percent to 2.43 billion tons in the first nine months of the year amid soaring prices, official data showed on Wednesday.

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, the country's imports of iron ore decreased by 3 percent year-on-year to 842 million tons over the first three quarters of the year, while its price surged by 67.5 percent to 1,159.8 yuan per ton.

Over the same period, the country's imports of crude oil dropped 6.8 percent to reach 387 million tons, and that of copper fell by 19.5 percent to 4.02 million tons.

Meanwhile, China imported 73.97 million tons of soybeans from January to September, slightly down 0.7 percent, while imports of natural gas grew by 22.2 percent to 89.85 million tons.

The international price of bulk commodities grew rapidly since the second half of last year, mainly due to a surge in global need driven by economic recovery, sufficient liquidity resulting from some developed economies' fiscal stimuli and market speculation, Li Kuiwen, spokesperson of the GAC, told the Global Times at a press briefing on Wednesday.

He said that the average import price of crude oil, natural gas and steel all reported growth during the first nine months of the year, up 32.8 percent, 5.1 percent and 43.6 percent, respectively.

Global Times