Steel prices rise in China

Iron ore futures in China were up more than 1 percent as steel prices recovered from a three-day slide. But China's plentiful supplies of steelmaking raw materials, which are at their highest level since August, have kept the iron ore price surging.

The most traded iron ore contract for January delivery on the Dalian Mercantile Exchange closed up 1.2% at 470 yuan ($ 71) a tonne. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, construction rebar rose 1.1 percent to 3,696 yuan a tonne, after hitting 3,627 yuan at the start of the session.

Iron ore demand is likely to be curtailed as Chinese steel mills, mainly in the north of the country, cut production during the winter in line with Beijing's anti-pollution campaign, traders and analysts say.

Inventories of imported iron ore at China's major ports reached 138.48 million tonnes as of Friday, the highest since Aug.4, according to data compiled by consulting firm SteelHome.

Iron ore imports to China fell nearly 23 percent in October from a record high in the previous month as factories cut consumption. But China's own iron ore output rose 3.9 percent last month from last year.

Coking coal climbed 2.9 percent to 1,211 yuan a tonne, while coke rose 4 percent to 1906 yuan.