BEIJING - China's gold output grew at a slower pace during the January-July period, although gold prices remain bullish at approximately $1,800 per ounce in global markets, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Sept 20.

The country's gold output rose by 4.2 metric tons, or 2.21 percent year-on-year, to reach 194.5 metric tons in the first seven months of this year, the MIIT said in a statement on its website.

In July alone, China produced 30.08 metric tons of gold, down from 32.39 metric tons in June, according to the MIIT.

The ministry said domestic gold prices continued their upward trend in July due to growing expectations for another round of quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve. The move was widely anticipated amid uncertainties resulting from the European sovereign debt crisis and the budget deficit problem in the US.

The combined output value of Chinese gold producers totaled 143.29 billion yuan ($22.43 billion) during the January-July period, up 21.88 percent year-on-year, compared with 23.37 percent in the first half of 2011.

Gold producers' profits jumped 34.06 percent year-on-year to 16.56billion yuan in the first seven months, the MIIT said.