BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- World gold demand in Q3 reached 964.3 tonnes, an increase of 6.2 tonnes compared with the same period last year, maintaining a stable trend, according to a report released Thursday by the World Gold Council (WGC).

In Q3, gold-backed exchange-traded fund (gold ETFs) saw a 116-tonne decline when compared with inflows of 13.2 tonnes in Q3 in 2017, marking the first quarter of outflows since the last quarter of 2016, according to the quarterly report.

However, robust central bank buying and consumer demand in the July-September period offset large ETF outflows.

According to the report, Q3 central bank gold reserves soared 22 percent year-on-year to 148.4 tonnes, the highest level of net purchases since 2015. At the same time, global demand for gold bars and coins reached 298.1 tonnes, up 28 percent from the same period last year.

Due to the gold price decline in July and August, jewelry demand saw growth of 6 percent to 535.7 tonnes as lower prices enticed consumers, the report said.

Driven by gold's use in electronics such as smartphones, servers and automotive vehicles, gold demand in the technology sector rose 1 percent to 85.3 tonnes in Q3, registering the eighth consecutive quarter of growth.