Trading in gold shares rises 92% in three months

Dubai : Trading in Dubai Gold Securities gathered pace in the three months ending November 30, with 53,190 shares traded compared with 27,691 shares in the first six months after their introduction last March, an increase of 92 per cent.

Some 40,668 shares were traded in November with a total value of $4.57 million.

A joint initiative by the World Gold Council and the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre (DMCC), Dubai Gold Securities trades on Nasdaq Dubai and is the Middle East's first gold Exchange Traded Commodity (ETC).

Additionally, it has been approved as Sharia compliant by an internationally recognised board of Sharia scholars.

Investors in the GCC are increasingly seeking to obtain access to gold price performance by means other than the purchase of jewellery, Grant Collins, Senior Managing Director, DCAM, said.

Gaining exposure

"The introduction of Dubai Gold Securities has provided them with an efficient way to gain exposure to gold without incurring the costs associated with holding the physical metal.

"As a financial product that is designed to track the performance of the spot gold price, it fulfills the metal's central role as a preserver of wealth, and does so in a manner that is Sharia compliant.

The growing volume in November is indicative of the growing interest in and familiarity with Dubai Gold Securities and exchange traded financial products generally among GCC regional institutions and local investors," Collins said.