BEIJING - Stockpiles of imported iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports surged last week to the highest level in 16 months due to flagging demand, according to new data released Tuesday.

At the end of the Feb 18 to Feb 24 period, inventories of imported iron ore exceeded 100 million tons for the first time since October 2012, reaching 100.34 million tons, up 0.41 percent from a week earlier, according to a Xinhua-China Iron Ore Index report.

This is the second week in a row for imported iron ore stockpiles to surge.

The index, compiled through research and analysis of 25 sea ports, showed that the price index for iron ore imports with a 62-percent purity grade dropped 2 points from the previous week to 120. The index for imports with 58-percent purity dropped 2 points to 108.

The report said prices for imported iron ore rose in the beginning of the week amid rising steel billet prices, but prices dropped after the middle of the week because of weak market demand.

It forecast that there will be small fluctuations in imported iron ore prices next week and flagging demand will continue in the short term.

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