China gold demand slumps 19% in H1, but output rises

Beijing (July 24)  China's gold demand slumped 19.4 percent in the first six months of 2014 from year ago, the China Gold Association said in a statement on Thursday, but production rose strongly in the same period as miners ramped up output to protect profit margins.

Gold demand from China, the world's largest consumer, has slackened this year as a 28 percent tumble in 2013 prices, which was the first annual decline in 13 years, dented consumer confidence in the metal as an investment tool.

Lower demand this year is also partly due to huge purchases last year. The drop in prices prompted many to bring forward their purchases, eating into 2014 demand.

Gold demand from January to June stood at 569.45 tonnes, compared with 706.36 tonnes in the same period last year, the association said in a statement on its website. Total output in the first six months of 2014 reached 211.1 tonnes, up 9.47 percent from a year ago.

Source: Reuters