BEIJING: Chinese steelmaking raw materials futures advanced on Thursday, with coking coal up more than 3%, fuelled by hopes of recovering steel production after stringent curbs in the first 11 months of the year.

The world’s top steel producer churned out 946.36 million tonnes of the metal during January to November, down 2.6% from the same period last year, in an accelerating decline driven by strict output curtailment.

Huatai Futures wrote in a note that since targets for crude steel output have now been met, some mills are resuming production and profitability is relatively good.

A government consultancy on Wednesday predicted that China’s steel demand could dip in 2022 from this year, but consumption from infrastructure construction, automobile and other sectors will continue to offer support.

Benchmark iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for May delivery, increased 1.6% to 666 yuan ($104.58) per tonne as of 0315 GMT.