Profit in China's 71 major steel enterprises totaled 3.55 billion yuan ($519.77 million) in June, expanding from May when the tables turned after seven-month losses, according to statistics from China's steel association.

This compared with a combined profit of 1.04 billion yuan in the 71 large- and medium-sized steel mills in May. Their aggregate profit totaled 1.73 billion yuan in the first half this year, said the latest statistics released by the China Iron and Steel Association this week.
Signs of recovery in the global economy have prompted Taiwan's top steel maker, China Steel, to raise domestic prices 9.4 percent in September. It's the biggest increase in a year and comes amid growing demand.

China Steel, whose announcement came after similar moves by bigger regional rivals such as the mainland's Baosteel, expects prices to rise even more this year as a global recovery boosts demand in everything from consumer goods to infrastructure projects.

"We've seen demand recovering after hitting bottom around April," L. M. Chung, a company vice president, told Reuters by telephone. "More price upside is likely at least throughout this year, as long as there is no abrupt surge in output in other countries."

The price adjustment, China Steel's second straight rise this year, was on the higher end of the 5-10 percent rise expected by some analysts and wider than a 7 percent increase for July and August.