World crude steel production, which had been sinking along with the global economy for most of the past year, logged a year-on-year gain in October for the second consecutive month, according to the latest figures from the World Steel Association (WorldSteel).

The production increase was driven by China and other developing economies, which more than offset production cuts in the United States and Europe.

U.S. steel production totaled an estimated 5.9 million tonnes last month, down 12.4 percent from 6.8 million tonnes a year earlier but up 2.5 percent from 5.8 million tonnes in September. For the first 10 months of this year, U.S. production of 46.6 million tonnes was down 43.7 percent from 82.7 million tonnes in the...