World steel production surged 8.8 percent last year to a record 1.239 billion tonnes, powered by Asian and Chinese output, the International Iron and Steel Institute disclosed.

It was the third consecutive year that production had surpassed a billion tonnes.

Asia accounted for 53.7 percent of world output in 2006, compared with 41.6 percent in 2001 and 38.4 percent in 1996.

China was the leading national producer, turning out 418 million tonnes, more than a third of the global total.

The other major producers were Japan, 116.2 million tonnes, and the United States, 98.5 million tonnes, followed by Russia, South Korea, Germany and India.

The steel sector took advantage of healthy world economic growth and demand in emerging market countries, notably in Asia, where major infrastructure projects were under way.

But the trend may not last. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in November said that while steel prospects for 2007 remained relatively sound, an increase in output capacity, especially in Asia, could lead to overproduction and a fall in prices.