BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Global gold demand dropped 1 percent year on year to 4,356 tonnes in 2019, according to a report issued by the World Gold Council (WGC) Wednesday.

File photo: CGTN

Affected by the rising gold price, demand for gold jewelry stood at 2,107 tonnes last year, down 6 percent from 2018, said the report.

Meanwhile, demand for gold bars and coins hit the lowest level in the past decade.

In contrast, the demand for the gold-backed exchange-trade fund (ETF) surged, said the WGC. By the end of 2019, holdings of global gold-backed ETF increased by 401.1 tonnes to a record high of 2,885.5 tonnes.

The increase in gold-backed ETF inflows was mainly driven by relatively loose monetary policies of various countries and uncertainties of global geopolitics, said the council.

Wang Lixin, WGC's managing director in China, said China's gold-backed ETF market was more mature as the inventory reached 17 billion yuan (about 2.44 billion U.S. dollars) and more new products were approved.