Business | Markets
Gold and jewellery market will be brighter this year
The UAE gold and jewellery market is expected to grow 25 per cent in sales this year even though the local price of the yellow metal is expected to hit Dh80 per gram, up from the current Dh60.
- By Mohammad Ezz Al Deen, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 January 26, 2006
Dubai: The UAE gold and jewellery market is expected to grow 25 per cent in sales this year even though the local price of the yellow metal is expected to hit Dh80 per gram, up from the current Dh60.
Even though global prices are approaching $600, industry experts told Gulf News that local and regional demand is expected to grow in the first quarter. At the same time, the global price is expected to touch $650 in the first half of the year.
"Buy gold and jewellery now. This is not a campaign punchline. It is real advice to the investors and consumers," said Firoz G. Merchant, chairman of Pure Gold, one of the region's leading gold and jewellery companies.
He said the economic situation in the Middle East high oil prices and the weakness of some currencies and economies is pushing the international and regional investment funds to increase the share of gold in their portfolios.
"The normal per cent of gold investments in the portfolio is moving between five and 10 per cent. That percentage is moving up slightly day by day because central banks, funds and international investors are eyeing gold as a valuable investment," Merchant added.
He added that people are losing confidence in currencies and the stock markets. "The Tokyo stock market collapsed last week and investors had begun to move towards the metals, especially gold. If you buy gold you will not lose anything at the end of the day."
He said, "We have plans to open 10 showrooms in Muscat, three in Kuwait, and another two in Bahrain and Qatar."
He added that Pure Gold also plans to increase the number of showrooms in the UAE to 50 by adding 15 this year.
Seven-day trading soon at DGCX
The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, the city's new gold derivative exchange, will soon extend trading to all seven days of the week from five now, its chairman said yesterday.
Colin Griffith told a bankers meet organised by Emirates Bank that the decision to extend trading follows a demand by traders, although trading sessions on Saturday and Sunday would be shorter.
The exchange now trades from Monday to Friday.
"The traders said they need the market for hedging purposes and this is what we have decided to give them," Griffith said, but added that he couldn't put a time frame on its implementation.
Dubai is the world's sixth-largest gold consumer and a major gold trading centre, being located between the key gold consuming market of India and producers in Africa.
- Staff report
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