A comparison of October shipments to the previous month of September shows the following changes: hot dipped galvanized sheet and strip, up 3 percent, cold rolled sheet, up three percent and hot rolled sheet, up two percent.

South Korean steelmaker Posco and Australia's Fortescue Metals Group are set to collaborate on green hydrogen in a partnership that could see Posco importing both iron ore and renewable hydrogen from the latter.

The 2101 ferrosilicon contract price on ZCE closed at 6800 yuan per ton on December 21.

The 2101 ferrosilicon contract price on ZCE closed at 6472 yuan per ton on December 18.

Some analysts feel iron ore prices have been spurred on by recent speculative demand.

In Jan-Oct, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China, has produced 507.02 million tons of raw coal, a decrease of 14.2 year on year.

The 2101 ferrosilicon contract price on ZCE closed at 6332 yuan per ton on December 17.

The border port of Ceke in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has witnessed coal imports of about 10.06 million tonnes this year, local authorities said.