Thyssenkrupp AG is to set up a joint working group of board members and labour representatives to help implement the plan to merge with Tata Steel, it said in a statement published on Sunday after a supervisory board meeting.

Cities in China's eastern province of Anhui are issuing plans to curb production in the steelmaking, non-ferrous smelting, cement and coal-fired power sectors over the coming winter in a drive to meet a politically crucial air pollution target.

Several thousand steelworkers took to the streets of Bochum in Germany's industrial heartland on Friday to protest against the planned merger of the European steel units of Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel.

The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

The Indian government has criticised state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) for its failure to supply rails to Indian Railways, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

* GRAPHIC - Global steel production: http://tmsnrt.rs/2xRzVMY

Ukraine has launched a complaint against Kazakhstan's use of anti-dumping duties on certain types of steel pipes imported from Ukraine, the World Trade Organization said on Thursday.

Iron ore prices are in retreat as the market starts to factor in realities that it has previously been happy to ignore in the euphoria of a strong rally.

A Chinese firm at the centre of allegations made by Hitachi Metals Ltd (HML) and its U.S. unit Metglas on Thursday vehemently denied that it had stolen trade secrets.

France's benchmark CAC-40 stock market index should break through the 6,000 point barrier by the end of 2018, helped by the expected positive impact of reforms from President Emmanuel Macron, Citigroup analysts said in a research note.