BEIJING - Stockpiles of iron ore continued to drop at 25 major Chinese ports during the week ending Nov 19, according to Xinhua's latest iron ore price report Tuesday.

Imported iron ore at the ports stood at 96.89 million tons last week, down 540,000 tons from the previous week, the report said.

The decrease was slightly higher than the 480,000 tons decrement recorded in the week ending Nov 12.

The price index for 63.5-percent-grade iron ore imports remained flat at 123 points last week, while the index for 58-percent-grade imports stayed unchanged at 105 points, the report said.

Import prices of iron ore are less likely to go up in the short term as demand for steel is expected to shrink further during the cold weather. However, Xinhua analysts predicted the market would pick up along with an improving economy in the longer term.

China, the world's top iron ore consumer and buyer, imported 56.43 million tons of the raw material in October, down 13.2 percent month-on-month. The average import price dropped 9.45 percent from the previous month to $104.9 per tons, according to General Administration of Customs data.