BEIJING - Prices of imported iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports have continued a downward trend due to a sharp decline in the price of steel, a report showed Tuesday.

For the week ending Jan 26, the price index for iron ore imports with a 62-percent purity grade dropped two points from the previous week to 66. The index for imports of 58 percent purity grade went down one point to 59, according to a Xinhua-China Iron Ore Index report.

Inventories of imported iron ore stood at 101.73 million tons, up 2.86 percent, or 2.83 million tons, over the previous period (Jan13-19).

The report said the sharp decline in steel prices led to the fall of iron ore prices last week. It is forecast that the lackluster steel demand will continue to push iron ore prices lower.

The report forecast that the iron ore market will continue to be sluggish next month as the Chinese New Year approaches, and the low iron ore prices are likely to be the market's "new normal."

The index closely tracks changes in the domestic iron ore market on the basis of in-depth surveys of China's major sea ports, iron ore traders and steel makers, as well as analysis of customs statistics.

The original data was collected via the Xinhua global data and information collection network and put together with comments from experts in the iron and steel, wholesale, and retail sectors.