BEIJING — China’s crude steel output hit a record high in October, as steelmakers gear up for winter production recess, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Nov 14.

In October, crude steel output reached 82.55 million tonnes, up 9.1 percent year-on-year. Rolled steel output rose 11.5 percent to reach 98.02 million tonnes, the NBS said.

Chinese steel producers have regularly introduced output curbs since the beginning of November to battle winter smog.

China’s value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 5.9 percent year-on-year in October, up 0.1 percentage points from that recorded in September.

“The industrial production continued to move up to medium and high ends,” said Liu Aihua, an NBS spokesperson, at a press conference.