"Not a good sign, but at least the worst is over and we're heading for a recovery."

Australia's Queensland government expects coal exports from the state to drop by 8pc.

US coking coal prices strengthened further early last week, buoyed by supply tightness across segments and strong demand from Chinese mills for low-volatile coals stretching into March next year.

Ningxia and Gansu have issued electricity price adjustment policies, and the impact is not very clear at present.

The 2101 ferrosilicon contract price on ZCE closed at 6268 yuan per ton on December 3.

The No.4 furnace at Gary has a rated annual capacity of 1.36 million st/year, according to data from the Association for Iron and Steel Technology.

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continued their march upwards.

Thyssenkrupp received a non-binding offer from Liberty Steel for its steel unit in October.