BEIJING -- China's gold output continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace, in the first five months of this year, according to official figures released Wednesday.

The country produced 140.7 tons of gold in the January-May period, up 6.59 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement.

The growth was slower than the 10 percent year-on-year increase registered in the first quarter of this year.

In May alone, China's gold output hit 31.2 tons, according to the statement.

In the first five months, the nation's top 10 gold companies produced 70.3 tons of finished gold, up 0.96 percent year-on-year and accounting for nearly half of the country's total.

China continued to be the world's largest gold producer for a fifth straight year in 2011, as gold output that year hit 360.96 tons, up 5.89 percent year-on-year.