ULAN BATOR, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Mongolia said Tuesday it purchased 2.3 tons of gold from legal entities and individuals in the first quarter of this year, up 2.1 percent from the same period last year.

As of March, the central bank's average gold purchase rate (gold price) was 101.822.3 tugrik (42.56 U.S. dollars) per gram, which corresponds to a low rate on the London Metal Exchange, according to experts of the Bank of Mongolia.

It is expected that the gold purchase will increase with the start of the peak of gold mining in August, September and October.

The gold producers in cooperation with the government of Mongolia have carried out a number of measures directed at enriching the treasury fund and improving the legal environment on foreign exchange over past five years. As a result, gold miners submitted 20.01 tons of gold to the central bank in 2017, contributing 800 million dollars to the state budget.

Annual gold production had not surpassed 20 tons since 2005 when it reached its record high at 25 tons.