BEIJING, Mar 09, 2012 (Dow Jones) -- China imported 120 million metric tons of iron ore in the January-February period, up 5.7% compared to a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said Saturday.

The customs department disclosed the data in a press release preceding the actual publication, due later Saturday, of more detailed preliminary commodity trade data for the month.

Data in such press releases are generally rounded up or down, making them slightly less accurate than the actual data.