Crude steel production in China, the biggest in the world, gained 14 per cent in November from a year earlier, aided by overseas demand and rising prices of flat products.

Output climbed to 57.47 million tonnes last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Daily output was 1.92 million tons, beating the 1.91 million tonnes of October, based on a monthly figure of 59.1 million tonnes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

China’s steel-product exports climbed 12.7 per cent in the first 11 months of this year because of improved demand from Southeast Asian and other countries, helping ease a local glut.

The average Chinese prices of hot-rolled coil, a benchmark flat product, gained 4 per cent in November to 3,879 yuan (US$622) from a year earlier, compared with a 1.8 per cent decline in the prices of reinforcing bars.

Hot-rolled coils are used in machinery and are turned into cold-rolled coils for vehicle and appliance makers, while rebars are used in construction.

China’s monthly passenger-vehicle sales rose 8.75 per cent to 1.46 million units in November, the highest in almost two years, as consumer confidence improved, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Rebar prices fell as the winter season cut construction demand in northern China. Steel output gained 2.9 per cent to 660 million tons in the first 11 months from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said.

Unprocessed iron ore output gained 14 per cent to 124.6 million tonnes in November, the bureau said. For the January-to- November period, production gained 16 per cent to 1.21 billion tonnes.