The Shanghai Futures Exchange's most-traded steel rebar contract climbed to a one-week high of 3,608 yuan before easing to close 1% higher at 3,595 yuan ($524.08) per tonne. It rose 0.7% for the week.

Crude steel production climbed to a record 996.34 million tonnes in 2019 as real estate investment increased while a push on infrastructure spending also fuelled demand for steel as a vital building material.

Shanghai's hot-rolled steel coil, used in cars and home appliances, rose to its highest in a week, gaining 1.1% to 3,635 yuan per tonne.

Improvement in manufacturing and optimism associated with the Phase 1 Sino-U.S. trade deal helped prices, said Richard Lu, an analyst with CRU in Beijing.

Meanwhile, iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose after Vale SA halted operations at a Chilean mine.

The most-traded iron ore contract with May expiry gained 0.8% to 669.5 yuan per tonne, adding 1.6% for the week.

Brazilian miner Vale SA has halted the tailings operations at the Esperança mine, which can process about 1.2 million tonnes of iron ore per year, citing the need for a technical evaluation and to potentially carry out work to improve safety at the site.

For a graphic on China's steel output vs property investment:

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/1184/1175/Annotation%202020-01-17%20150539.png

FUNDAMENTALS

- Spot prices of the benchmark 62% iron-content ore, as tracked by SteelHome consultancy , fell by $0.3 to $96.2 per tonne on Thursday.

- The Shanghai Futures Exchange stainless steel futures for February 2020 delivery fell 0.7% to 14,060 yuan per tonne.

- Dalian coking coal declined 0.1% to 1,220 yuan per tonne, while Dalian coke rose 0.9% to 1,875 yuan per tonne.

- China's economy grew 6.1% in 2019, the slowest in 29 years, amid a bruising trade war with the United States, but still within the government's target of 6%-6.5%.

- China will maintain a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy in 2020 and roll out more support measures this year as the economy faces downward pressure, the chief of the country's statistics bureau said on Friday.

- Rio Tinto reported a 3% drop in iron ore shipments in 2019 as the Anglo-Australian miner's operations faced disruptions due to cyclone and a fire at a port facility.

(Reporting by Emily Chow and Min Zhang; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)