BEIJING, March 25 -- Stockpiles of imported iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports last week rose for a sixth consecutive week due to flagging demand, new data showed Tuesday.

At the end of the week ending Monday, inventories of imported iron ore reached 105.86 million tonnes, up 0.2 percent from a week earlier, according to a Xinhua-China Iron Ore Index report.

The stockpiles have increased since Feb. 11.

The price index for iron ore imports with a 62-percent purity grade was flat from the previous week at 109, the report showed. Prior to last week, the price has dropped since Jan. 7.

The report said the market witnessed slack trading last week, as investors were worried about further falls in price.

Steel companies are confronting flagging demand, so they will likely continue to push for lower iron ore prices, the report forecast.