BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's gold consumption rose 15.49 percent year on year to 815.89 tonnes in the first three quarters of 2017 due to strong sales of gold bars, new data showed Wednesday.
Consumption of gold bars went up 44.45 percent to 222.07 tonnes, while that for gold jewelry rose 7.44 percent to 503.87 tonnes, said the China Gold Association.
The association attributed the growth to increasing consumption in China's second- and third-tier cities as well as a cooling property market and volatile securities market.
Gold output in the first three quarters stood at 374.981 tonnes, down 3.76 percent from a year earlier, the association said.
Last year, China adopted new rules to raise environmental requirements on solid waste from gold prospecting, leading to a wave of gold mine closures and output declines in the major producing provinces, including Shandong, Jiangxi and Hunan.
Years of intensive gold mining has resulted in falling reserves and production halts in several areas, including Qinghai and Gansu provinces.
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