Imported iron ore stockpiles fall

Stockpiles of iron ore slid at 25 major Chinese ports during the week ending Jan. 14, according to Xinhua's latest iron ore price report, released on Tuesday.

Inventories of imported iron ore at the ports stood at 81.59 million metric tons, down 1.05 million metric tons, or 1.3 percent, from a week earlier, the report said.

It added that the price index for 63.5-percent-grade iron ore imports rose one point to 154 points during the period, while the index for 58-percent-grade imports also climbed one point to stand at 136 points.

Import prices of iron ore are likely to trend lower in the near-term as recent gains were overdone, Xinhua analysts said in the report.

China, the world's top iron ore consumer and buyer, imported 740 million metric tons of the raw material in 2012, up 8.4 percent year on year.

The average import price dropped 21.6 percent from one year earlier to stand at 128.6 U.S. dollars per metric ton, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.