“Industrial activities (in China) are practically at their normal levels…Civil construction is also rising daily and steel and iron ore stocks are falling,” he said.

Cleveland-Cliffs expects its US steelmaking operations to begin normalizing over the second and third quarters, depending on automotive plant restarts.

Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor has projected that its global car sales will fall by 22pc from a year earlier.

Japan's power demand in April fell compared with a year earlier, with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic offsetting a weather-driven demand increase.

India has set up a project monitoring unit to speed up the development of coal mines and raise domestic output, as part of its broader aim to cut imports.

This growth was led by a ramp up of Tata Steel BSL and acquisition of Usha Martin steel business by Tata Steel Long Products in April 2019.

Private steel player Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) has said its consolidated crude steel production remained flat at 6.5 lakh tonne (LT) during April 2020.

Hoa Phat Group, the largest steel maker in Vietnam, exported over 20,000 tonnes of construction steel in April, up 17 percent year-on-year.