Credit;Adwo/AdobeStock Benchmark Asian iron ore futures rose on Thursday as data showed monthly shipments of the steelmaking ingredient to China from Australia's Port Hedland dropped to the lowest in two years. Shipments from Port Hedland, the world's biggest iron ore export hub, totalled 30.73 million tonnes in February, when top steel producer China typically imports less due to the Lunar New Year holidays. That is the lowest since March 2019 and compares with 35.6 million tonnes in January and 33.3 million tonnes in February last year, data from Australia's Pilbara Ports Authority showed. Port Hedland is used by three of Australia's top four iron ore miners -- BHP Group, Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting.