GOLD imports by the Chinese mainland from Hong Kong more than doubled to an all-time high in March as buyers in the biggest consumer market after India boosted purchases, underscoring increased bullion demand in the world's second-largest economy.

Mainland buyers purchased 223,519 kilograms, including scrap, compared with 97,106 kilograms in February, according to data from the Hong Kong government yesterday. Net imports by the mainland, after deducting flows from the mainland into Hong Kong, were 130,038 kilograms compared with 60,947 kilograms a month earlier, according to Bloomberg News calculations.

The shipments preceded gold's plunge into a bear market last month, with prices tumbling 14 percent in the two days through April 15 in the worst drop in three decades. The slump led to a surge in demand for jewelry, coins and bars from India and the US to China.

"This is quite out of expectation as all these imports were done before the market slump in April," said Qu Mingyu, a trader at the Bank of China, one of the country's three largest bullion banks. "Judging from the explosive growth of trading volume on the Shanghai Gold Exchange in the second half of April, and anecdotes that many jewelry shops are sold out throughout the country, imports might be even more substantial in April."

Gold for immediate delivery in London fell 4.6 percent in the first quarter of the year as investment demand slumped, then plunged 7.6 percent in April.

The purchases in March were over three times higher than the 62,913 kilograms in the same month last year, data from Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department showed.