Tuesday, 3rd February 2004 (2948 views)

China has announced record figures for the production of gold in 2003.

The country, which is one of the world's five biggest gold producers, produced a record 200.6 tonnes of the metal in 2003, a rise of 5.68 per cent from the previous year, the China Gold Association said.

Gold producers including Zhongjin Gold and Shandong Gold Mining put out 26 tonnes in December.

China is the world's third biggest consumer of gold, and the market is predicted to grow steadily in coming years after hitting 215 tonnes in 2002, according to the World Gold Council.

Gold is popular in the world most populous nation for wedding and birthday gifts and as an investment. This is what is considered to have helped boost global prices of precious metals over the past few months.

Gold jewellery sales are expected to hit $22.83 billion a year by 2010, accounting for more than a tenth of global sales, the Chinese gold association said, according to Reuters.

 

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