China's Gold Sector Profits Up 36.18 Pct in Jan.

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Profits of Chinese gold producers surged 36.18 percent year-on-year to reach 1.93 billion yuan (304.76 million U.S. dollars) in January, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) shows.

Meanwhile, the industry's output value increased 35.6 percent from a year earlier to 18.93 billion yuan in January, the MIIT said in a statement on its website.

The MIIT said that rising domestic gold prices, which were pushed up by global gold prices as countries such as the United States maintained ultra-low interest rates, have attracted more speculators into the sector.

In January, Chinese gold producers saw output expand by 3.68 percent year-on-year to 24.13 tonnes, of which, 19.73 tonnes were from gold mines, the MIIT said.

During the period, finished gold products by the top 10 Chinese gold producers increased 1.27 percent from last year to 13.65 tonnes. The figure accounted for 56.58 percent of the country's total.