China sees rising production of steel, pig iron in October

China's output of pig iron climbed to 70.26 million tonnes in October, up 1.4 percent year on year, while steel production grew by 3.5 percent from the previous year to 119.41 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the China Iron and Steel Association.

Data showed that 35 out of the 41 primary industrial sectors reported a year-on-year growth in value-added output in October.

Industry insiders said that the proportion of industrial steel products, particularly medium and heavy-width steel strips, has been on a consistent rise since the start of this year, pointing out that the increase in steel strip production indicates an accelerated release of growth potential in China's manufacturing industry.

Statistics revealed that the value-added industrial output of industrial enterprises above designated size in the country expanded by 5.3 percent year on year in October. More specifically, the value-added output in equipment manufacturing rose by 6.6 percent year on year, and high-tech manufacturing sector experienced a year-on-year 9.4 percent increase.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.34 percent to 98.982 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1606 dollars from 1.1583 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.34 dollars from 1.3328 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 157.74 Japanese yen, lower than 157.77 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.777 Swiss francs from 0.7827 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3596 Canadian dollars from 1.3697 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar dropped to 9.1855 Swedish Kronor from 9.2657 Swedish Kronor.