BEIJING, March 24 -- Prices of imported iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports continue to fall due to thin spot trading volumes and a strong wait-and-see attitude, a report showed Tuesday.

For the week ending March 23, the price index for 62 percent pure iron ore imports dropped three points from the previous week. The index for 58 percent imports of purity grade fell two pints, according to a Xinhua-China Iron Ore Index report.

Inventories of imported iron ore stood at 96.6 million tonnes, down 1.84 million tonnes, from the previous period (March 10-16).

The prices of mainstream imported ore fell below 55 U.S. dollars/tonne last week as a result of weak demand.

The imported ore prices have fallen 23 percent since the beginning of the year, after falling 47 percent in 2014.

The report forecast the rising steel stocks will weigh on steel prices and lead to further contraction in demand for iron ore.

The index tracks changes in the domestic iron ore market on the basis of surveys of major sea ports, iron ore traders, steel makers and customs statistics.