China saw a surge in gold consumption levels in the first quarter of 2021 as the economy continues to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the first quarter of 2021 national actual gold consumption in China totalled 288.20 tons, for a rise of 93.90% compared to the same period last year and a recovery to levels in the first quarter of 2019, according to figures from the China Gold Association (CGA).
Gold jewellery consumption was 169.18 tonnes, for a YoY rise of 83.81%, while gold bar and gold coin consumption was 96.31 tonnes, for a YoY rise of 155.67%.
Industrial and other usage of gold totalled 22.71 tonnes, for a YoY rise of 20.03%.
China’s raw gold production in the first quarter was 74.44 tonnes, for a YoY decline of 9.92%, while imports of raw gold totalled 23.99 tons, for a YoY rise of 1.41%.
The big Chinese gold producers including China Gold Group, Shandong Gold Group, Zijin Mining Group and Shandong Zhaojin achieved production of 30.78 tonnes in the first quarter, accounting for 52.25% of the national total, for an increase of 6.65 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
