BEIJING - Stockpiles of iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports increased last week, according to Tuesday's Xinhua-China iron ore index report.

At the end of the Dec 17 to Dec 23 period, inventories of imported iron ore in ports stood at 85.40 million tons, up 1.56 million tons or 1.86 percent over the previous period, the report said.

The index, compiled through research and analysis of 25 major sea ports, showed that the price index for iron ore imports with a 62 percent purity grade decreased two points from the previous week to 133, and the index for iron ore imports of 58 percent purity grade fell two points to 120.

The report said that steelmakers showed little desire to buy iron ore as the downstream market has not rebounded and most traders were maintaining a wait-and-see attitude.

The report predicted that the drop in steel demand will have a negative impact on iron ore trading and it is unlikely that there will be large-scale purchase orders of iron ore next week.