China's crude steel output picks up

China's crude steel output rose 8 percent year on year to 587.38 million tonnes in the first three quarters, the country's top economic planner said Thursday.

The growth was much faster than the 1.7-percent increase seen in the same period last year, according to the website of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Combined profits in the industry were up 39.9 percent from the previous year to 127 billion yuan (20.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months, according to the NDRC data.

The strong growth comes at a time when indicators are pointing to stabilization in China's economy, as gross domestic product expanded by 7.8 percent in the third quarter, up from 7.5 percent in the second and 7.7 percent in first.

China's steel prices rose in September on a year-on-year basis, with the steel price composite index was up by 0.91 points to 101.38, still 0.08 percentage points lower than August.