Bloomberg reported that steel exports from China, the world's largest producer, rose to a record for a fifth month.

According to data released by the customs administration, the country shipped 10.29 million tonnes of steel products in January. China is outbound shipments surged 51% to a record 93.78 million tonnes last year as producers sought overseas buyers while construction slowed and the economy cooled.

Mr Ian Roper, a commodity strategist at CLSA Limited in Singapore said that "While the Chinese steel mills continue to focus on maximizing output rather than tackling the overcapacity, exports will continue to undercut the rest of the world. The Chinese steel prices just are so low compared to the rest of the world, and with iron ore still being under pressure, there ¡s room for them to still come down a bit further."

Mr Roper said that exports during this year are expected to decline after the government canceled export tax rebates for steel alloys that contain the chemical element boron starting as part of a drive to force the sprawling domestic industry to consolidate. Shipments of the alloyed steel, which earlier earned a rebate of as much as 13% accounted for more than 30% of last year's shipments.

China's output grew at the slowest pace on record last year while steelmakers delayed cutting jobs and closing plants as construction demand dropped during the slowest year of economic growth since 1990.

According to statistics from the World Steel Association, the country's output of 822.7 million tonnes was more than double that of the combined next four largest producers Japan, the US, India and South Korea.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that iron ore imports fell 9.5% from record in December to 78.57 million tonnes last month. The country will continue to phase out overcapacity in its steel industry, which can produce 1.16 billion tonnes.