China overtook India as the world's largest gold consumer for the first time in 2013, according to official data made public Sunday.
China's gold consumption hit 1,176 tonnes in 2013, up 41.4 percent, as declining gold prices enticed buying, Xinhua reported Sunday citing the ministry of information and technology.
Gold prices fell 26 percent last year, it said.
China was the world's no.1 gold producer last year for the seventh consecutive year. Production rose 6.2 percent to reach 428 tonnes, nearly 15 percent of the world's total production.