* China issued import quotas last week
* Quotas are for smaller amounts than usual
* Imports down 300-500 tonnes since May
* Yuan at 11-year lows as economy slows
By Peter Hobson and Yawen Chen
LONDON/BEIJING, Aug 22 (Reuters) - China has partiallylifted restrictions on imports of gold, bullion industrysources said, loosening curbs that had stopped an estimated300-500 tonnes of the metal worth $15-25 billion at currentprices from entering the country since May.
China's central bank had for several months curtailed or notgranted import quotas to commercial banks responsible for mostof the gold that enters the country, Reuters reported last week.
Sources said those measures had possibly been designed toreduce capital outflows and bolster the yuan, which has slumpedto 11-year lows against the dollar as a trade dispute with theUnited States batters China's economy.
The central bank began to issue quotas again last week, butfor lower amounts of gold than considered normal, three peoplewith direct knowledge of the matter in London and Asia said -without specifying exact amounts.
"Some (quotas) have been given," said one of the sources,adding that these were "less than usual."
It's a "partial lift" of the restrictions, another sourcesaid.
The Chinese central bank did not respond to a request forcomment.
China is the world's biggest importer of gold, with around1,500 tonnes of metal worth some $60 billion - equivalent toone-third of the world's total supply - entering the countrylast year, according to its customs data.
Chinese demand for gold jewellery, investment bars and coinshas trebled in the last two decades as the country has rapidlybecome wealthier. China's official gold reserves meanwhile rosefivefold to nearly 2,000 tonnes, according to official data.
Beijing has previously taken steps to curb capital outflowswhen its currency weakened. These steps included somerestrictions on gold imports in 2016, sources have said.
No clear data for capital outflows exist but a measure fromChina's balance of payments called errors and omissions pointsto $88 billion leaving in the first three months of this year,the most on record.
Chinese customs figures show the country imported 228 tonnesless gold in May and June - the last month for which data isavailable - than in the same two months of 2018.
By mid-August, up to 500 tonnes less gold had entered Chinasince May than over the same period last year, people in thebullion industry said.
(Reporting by Peter Hobson in London, Editing by Veronica Brownand Mark Potter)