China's net gold imports in February via main conduit Hong Kong fell 13.6 percent from the previous month, as economic woes dented appetite in the world's top bullion consumer.
Net imports via Hong Kong to China, the world's top consumer of the metal, dropped to 33.15 tonnes in February from 38.37 tonnes in January, when it had doubled, according to data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.
Total gold imports via Hong Kong slipped 13.4 percent to 36.61 tonnes last month from 42.276 tonnes in January.
A bleak Chinese economy has strained gold consumption in the country with people unwilling to spend, said Samson Li, a Hong Kong-based senior precious metals analyst, Refinitiv GFMS.
China has lowered its economic growth target, compared with a 6.6 percent last year, and expects growth of between 6 percent and 6.5 percent for 2019.
The country may also need time to "digest extra stocks" of the metal it had accumulated last year, Li said.
China's gold reserves rose to 59.560 million fine troy ounces at end-December, the first increase since October 2016, central bank data showed.
"Gold consumption in the first quarter of 2019 is expected to fall by more than 10 percent year-on-year," Li said, adding that consumption has been affected by weak economic conditions.
The Lunar New Year in February has also seen a drop in jewellery demand in comparison with the other years.
Spot gold prices fell about 0.6 percent in February.
China does not provide trade data on gold, so the Hong Kong figures serve as a proxy for flows to the mainland.
The Hong Kong data, however, might not provide a complete picture of Chinese purchases because gold is also imported via Shanghai and Beijing.
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