A grab bucket loads iron ore on a cargo ship at the Port of Qingdao in east Chinas Shandong province, Oct 18, 2013. [Photo/icpress]

BEIJING -- Stockpiles of iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports declined last week as market participants showed strong willingness to trade, according to Tuesday's Xinhua-China iron ore index report.

At the end of the November 5 to November 11 period, inventories of imported iron ore in ports stood at 77.40 million tons, down 418,000 tons or 0.54 percent over the previous period, the report said.

The price index for 62-percent-grade iron ore rose 2 points from the previous week to 136. The index for 58-percent-grade iron ore also rose 2 points to 124.

The report said the active trading last week was due to the rising demand of both ore dressing manufacturers and traders.

Analysts predicted that the steel price will rebound in November and December as steel output may drop in the fourth quarter, but in the long run, it is unlikely that there will be large-scale purchase orders of iron ore.