BEIJING: Chinese steel rebar futures rose on Tuesday, fuelled by strong demand and surging prices for raw materials amid firmer commodity markets. The most active construction rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for May delivery, closed up 1% at 3,914 yuan ($598.72) per tonne, after rising as much as 2% to 3,951 yuan.

"Although consumption has weakened seasonally, it's still much better than the same period in previous years," Huatai Futures wrote in a note, adding that firm steelmaking ingredient prices left limited room for a drop in the price of steel products.

Benchmark iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for May delivery, ended 0.8% higher at 912 yuan a tonne. The spot price of iron ore with 62% iron content for delivery to China jumped by $5 to $143.50 per tonne on Monday, according to SteelHome consultancy.

The January contract for hot-rolled coil, used in the manufacturing sector, edged down 0.1% to 4,313 yuan per tonne. Dalian coking coal, for February delivery, was up 1.1% at 1,507 yuan a tonne. Coke futures fell 0.9% to 2,544 yuan per tonne. Stainless steel on the Shanghai exchange rose 0.4% to 13,460 yuan a tonne.

Rio Tinto may face calls to pay compensation or a fine when an Australian parliamentary inquiry releases an interim report on Wednesday into how the firm legally destroyed ancient sacred rock shelters for an iron ore mine, industry sources said.

China is ramping up efforts to restructure its steel industry to meet a target of consolidating 60%-70% of production in the hands of its top 10 steelmakers by 2025.