There has been an increase in crude steel production in China during 2013, with output rising 8.3% year-on-year to 652 million tonnes in the first ten-months of the year, compared to the previous corresponding period.

The growth rate has outpaced the over two per cent increase in the same period last year, economic reports have shown.

Output of rolled steel rose 11.6% from a year ago to 888.32 million tonnes during the same period, 5.3 percentage points more than the growth over the same period last year.

From January to October, steel exports increased 13.6% year on year to 51.97 million tonnes, while imports edged up 0.6% to 11.62 million tonnes, the NDRC data showed.

However, steel prices fell in October, with the steel price composite index down 1.62 points to 99.76 points, compared with 101.38 points in September, according to the NDRC. China's iron and steel sector has been pounded by weak demand and falling prices and suffered greatly from overcapacity.