--FILE--A Chinese worker produces steel product at a steel plant in Lianyungang city, east China's Jiangsu province, 19 February 2015. China's steel industry posted higher prices and better profits last year as a result of progress made in reducing excessive capacity, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The steel price index came in at 121.8 at the end of December, up 22.4 percent from the beginning of 2017, the MIIT said. It attributed the increase to cutting overcapacity, a ban on low-quality steel, production restrictions during winter, and recovering market demand.