Dubai: Record high gold prices dampened Dubai's gold sales in February, depressing volume by about 15 per cent from a year-ago, a top industry executive said on Tuesday.
"Relatively speaking, the 15 per cent drop we saw last month is not bad, especially that prices are now above $1,000 an ounce," Tawhid Abdullah, managing director of the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, an industry association, told Reuters.
"The market is okay now, and overall, diamond jewellery sales are compensating for the drop in gold jewellery," he said in an interview.
Gold, seen as a hedge against the weak dollar, has gained more than 23 per cent this year on bets of rising inflation amid deepening US financial concerns that were weakening the greenback against other currencies.
The metal steadied at around $1,000 an ounce on Tuesday.
