China's gold consumption edged up in the first quarter of 2026, mainly driven by the strong demand for gold bars and coins, according to data released by the China Gold Association on Saturday.
The country's gold consumption totaled 303.29 tonnes in the first three months of the year, up 4.41 percent year on year, according to the data.
In breakdown, consumption for gold bars and coins surged 46.4 percent to 202.06 tonnes, while gold jewelry consumption fell 37.1 percent to 84.62 tonnes.
In the first quarter, domestic gold production from domestic ore totaled 81.07 tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 7.08 percent; gold production from imported ore totaled 55.17 tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 2.94 percent.
The first quarter also witnessed robust inflows into gold exchange-traded funds (ETF), which added 50.44 tonnes during the period, surging 114.88 percent year on year and lifting total ETF holdings to 298.29 tonnes by the end of March, according to the data.
China's gold consumption up 4.41 pct in Q1
Spanish health authorities on Friday identified a second monitored contact linked to the hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship MV Hondius after tracing a woman living in Catalonia who had shared a flight with a Dutch traveler died from the virus.
Spain's Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies said the woman is asymptomatic and was initially missed during contact tracing because of a seat change on the aircraft.
According to health authorities, the woman now meets the criteria for monitored contact under a newly approved national surveillance protocol and will remain under medical observation.
This came after the suspected case of hantavirus detected in Alicante. Spanish Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla said on Friday that the health authorities had taken relevant measures.
In addition, Padilla confirmed that all 14 Spanish passengers aboard the MV Hondius had agreed to undergo voluntary quarantine measures in order to minimize the risk of further transmission.
The Dutch-operated expedition cruise ship, currently heading toward Spain's Canary Islands, has so far been linked to three deaths.
Padilla said a team from the Spanish Health Ministry would travel to Tenerife on Saturday ahead of the ship's expected arrival on Sunday.
Passengers are expected to disembark by small boats before being transferred under strict isolation measures. Spanish citizens aboard the vessel will be transported to Madrid for quarantine observation.
The British Health Security Agency announced Friday that a suspected hantavirus case has been detected on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, linked to the ongoing outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The vessel stopped at Tristan da Cunha between April 13 and 15.
Spain identifies second suspected hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak
