China gold purchases spike 54% in first half 2013
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China gold purchases spike 54% in first half 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
China is on track to overtake India as the world's largest consumer of gold, with gold purchases jumping 54 percent in the first half of the year to 706.36 tonnes.
This was according to the China Gold Association said, as lower prices of the precious metal attracted buyers.
By way of contrast, China consumed 832.18 tonnes in all of 2012 and about 460 tonnes in the first half of 2012.
Output in China, the world's biggest gold producer, reached 192.82 tonnes, up 9 percent from a year ago.
The realisation of buying interest from China has played a significant part in the recent uptick in the gold price to US$1,334 an ounce.
Gold started its upward momentum last week driven by strong demand from China for raw materials as well as by better-than-expected trade data and industrial production figures from the east Asian country.