Brazilian mining firm Vale said it expects to achieve iron ore production capacity of 350mn t/yr this year, up by 8.7pc from a year earlier.

According to the Wuhan Shipping Exchange, the ships overstocking in some ports continued this week.

The increase took overall shipments for the last year to 407mn, slightly higher than a government-set target for the year of 400mn t.

Baowu produced 96mn t of steel in 2019 to overtake Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, which produced 89.8mn t, as the world's largest steelmaker.

Under the action of many factors, the short-term rebar price is easy to fall but difficult to rise.

In one of the most challenging engineering projects ever undertaken, Chile is building a unique steel-built suspension bridge near the site of the strongest earthquake ever recorded.

"[Rail operator] Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) is cancelling many trains," said one supplier.

It is expected that a new round of coal price rise will not appear until April or may.