BEIJING — China's import of steel hit a new high in September, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The country had imported 2.89 million metric tons of steel in September, with the import price averaging $689 per ton, data from the MIIT showed.

In the first nine months, China imported 15.07 million tons of steel, up 72.2 percent year-on-year and exported 40.39 million tons, down 19.6 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

China's steel market witnessed hot demand in 2019 thanks to the steady operation of infrastructure building, real estate and other downstream industries.

Steel consumption totaled about 880 million tons in 2019, up 6 percent year-on-year from 2018, according to the China Iron and Steel Industry Association.