Average price of steel products in China surged 25.63 percent year-on-year in February to 5,095 yuan (US$717) per ton, according to Saturday's China Securities Journal.

Figures from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) that were based on market surveys in 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities also showed that the average steel product price rose by 2.6 percent from January.

"The production of some iron and steel manufacturers decreased due to the weather-related disruptions that affected central and southern China and pushed steel product prices up," said Zhang Ping, an analyst with the Chinese www.umetal.com website.

Zhang added that raw material costs, including those for iron ore and coal, also boosted steel prices.

The producer price index surged 6.1 percent year-on-year in January, the largest monthly rise in three years. Crude coal prices jumped 14.9 percent year-on-year in January as bad weather disrupted coal markets.

Baosteel Group, the country's largest steel maker, announced last month that it would raise steel prices for the second quarter of 2008, in some cases by as much as 20 percent, after accepting Brazilian mine giant Vale's 65 percent iron ore price rise.

Experts said that higher steel prices would boost costs in many other industries such as construction, shipbuilding and air conditioning.