BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China's gold consumption edged up 0.69 percent year on year to 286.93 tonnes in the first quarter of this year due to strong domestic demand, industry data showed Thursday.
Consumption of gold jewelry reached 188.05 tonnes, up 4.18 percent from the same period last year, while that of gold bars dropped 4.42 percent to 70.04 tonnes, according to the China Gold Association.
Consumption for industrial and other uses saw a slight decline in the first three months, down 2.28 percent year on year to 27.84 tonnes.
With the continuous innovation on gold jewelry types, the country is transforming from an investment-oriented gold jewelry market to being more diversified, the association said.
In the first quarter, China's gold output stood at 92.78 tonnes, a decrease of 5.54 percent compared with the same period last year.
China's gold consumption rose 5.73 percent year on year to 1,151.43 tonnes in 2018, making the country the world's biggest gold consumer for the sixth straight year.
