Smoke rises from a chimney among houses as new high-rise residential buildings are seen under construction on a hazy day in the city centre of Tangshan, Hebei province in this February 18, 2014 file photo. Chinese steel prices hit record lows on Tuesday amid prolonged worries over shrinking demand in the world’s top consumer that market sources say has forced one of the country’s largest private producers to cease output. The shutdown by Tangshan Songting Iron & Steel, with an annual capacity of 5 million tonnes, would be one of the biggest in the sector’s years-long downturn as the world’s No.2 economy slows, traders and analysts said. The company, located in the northeastern city of Tangshan, did not answer repeated telephone calls. An official with the local government of Tangshan said it was “dealing with the issue right now in accordance with related law and regulations”, without specifically stating […]