China’s steel production hit a record high in early April as construction demand picked up, allaying concerns over faltering demand for raw materials in the world’s second-largest economy.

China, which produces nearly half the world’s steel, produced 2.03m tonnes of steel a day during the first 10 days in April, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association, an industry association representing large-scale mills.

Beijing’s year-old crackdown on property markets across the country has damped appetite for raw materials and demand growth for a range of commodities from iron ore to aluminium is expected to fall this year as a result, analysts say. China is the world’s biggest user of many commodities and Chinese demand is crucial to the fortunes of global miners and trading houses such as BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto.