China's use of gold to beat output in 2015

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CHINA'S gold consumption will more than double the production of bullion by 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.

But China, the second-biggest consumer in the world after India, will continue to see a wider deficit in gold supply in the country as consumption is set to surpass 1,000 tons in 2015, the ministry said in a statement published on its website yesterday.

Although consumption in India remained above China's in the first three quarters of the year, the World Gold Council predicts China to become the biggest market this year, according to its quarterly report unveiled this month.

Since 2007, China has been the world's biggest gold producer. It aims to produce between 420 tons and 450 tons of gold in 2015.

The country is also the biggest gold jewelry producer, taking up about 60 percent of the global production, according to the ministry.

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