Imported iron ore stockpiles pick up

BEIJING - Stockpiles of iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports picked up during the week ending Feb 25 due to increased business activities after the Spring Festival, according to Xinhua's latest iron ore price report on Tuesday.

Inventories of imported iron ore at the ports stood at 77.55 million metric tons, up 0.69 percent from a week earlier, the report said.

The price index for 63.5-percent-grade iron ore imports rose one point to 156 points during the period. The index for 58-percent-grade imports also gained one point to 138 points.

The report attributed the rising prices to steelmakers' growing purchase demands after the Spring Festival, combined with relatively tight supplies of the resource.

The report forecast that import prices of iron ore will rise at a milder rate as market demand will remain sluggish after the pick-up during the post-festival period.

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 in 2012 dropped 21.6 percent from one year earlier to stand at $128.6 per metric ton, according to General Administration of Customs data.