BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China produced 84.972 tonnes of gold in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 1.571 tonnes or 1.88 percent from the same period last year, industry data showed on Tuesday.
From January to March, gold consumption in the Chinese market jumped 12.03 percent year on year to 291.58 tonnes, data from the China Gold Association showed.
As COVID impacts waned and pro-consumption policies paid off, people's willingness to consume increased, leading to a significant recovery in gold consumption, especially in February and March, the association said.
Consumption of gold jewelry in China stood at 189.61 tonnes in the first quarter, up 12.29 percent year on year.
Due to rising safe-haven demand, consumption of gold coins and bars also went up, soaring 20.47 percent year on year to 83.87 tonnes during the period.
In the first quarter, gold consumption for industrial and other uses came in at 18.1 tonnes, down 16.9 percent from last year.
Tuesday's data also showed that holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in China decreased by 0.82 tonnes in the first quarter. By the end of March, total holdings of gold ETFs in the Chinese market were about 50.6 tonnes. ■
