Trade of gold futures in China surged in the first quater as the market maker system was introduced to stimulate the market vitality, according to the China Gold Association (CGA).

The trade of golds on the Shanghai Futures Exchange amounted to 12,700 tonnes in Q1, up 63.62 percent year on year, while the turnover surged 70.1 percent year on year to 3.63 trillion yuan (about 539 billion U.S. dollars), according to the CGA.

On the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), trades of golds amounted to 14,600 tonnes in Q1, up 9.95 percent year on year. The turnover of the gold trade reached 4.15 trillion yuan, up 14.55 percent from a year earlier, CGA data showed.

The global gold price averaged 1,303.8 U.S. dollars per ounce in Q1, down 1.97 percent year on year. However, the price of the Au9999, a highly refined pure gold, on the SGE increased 4.3 percent year on year to 8,079 yuan per ounce.