China's gold output rose 8.69 percent from a year ago to 159.24 tonnes in the first half of this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Wednesday.

Gold production in June was about 31.9 tonnes, up from 28.3 tonnes in May, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Gold companies reported a total net profit of 10.25 billion yuan (about US$1.51 billion) in the January-June period, an increase of 84.09 percent year on year, according to the MIIT.

During the first six months, the gross industrial output value of China's domestic gold sector stood at 96.89 billion yuan (US$14.27 billion), up 61.27 percent from a year ago, said the ministry.

The average global gold price was US$1,152.22 an ounce in the January-June period, according to the MIIT.

In 2009, China's cumulative gold demand was worth more than US$14 billion, or 11 percent of the world's total, according to a report released by the World Gold Council in March.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2010)