BHP Billiton : Australia's Port Hedland iron ore shipments to China rise 5 percent in Sept

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Iron ore shipments to China from Australia's Port Hedland terminal rose 5.3 percent in September from a month earlier, port data released on Wednesday showed.

Iron ore shipments to China from the world's biggest iron ore port totalled 37.4 million tonnes in September, up from August's 35.5 million tonnes, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority.

Total September iron ore shipments from the port totalled 43.5 million tonnes, up from 42.4 million tonnes in August.

Port Hedland is used by three of Australia's top four iron ore miners, BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole, editing by Richard Pullin)