Eid gold shopping: Will prices shoot past $2,300 an ounce this week?
UAE gold rate has set another high of Dh253.5 a gram - can it hit Dh260 in next few days?
Dubai: There is no stopping gold’s climb up the price ladder – the question is whether it will hit $2,300 an ounce over the next few days itself.
This morning, gold had shot past $2,250 and soared to $2,265. Currently, it’s at the $2,260 levels. So far, it’s up by more than $15 in active trading.
The UAE gold rate is at Dh253.5 a gram for 22K, gaining on the Dh250.5 that’s been there since late Friday (March 29). It was on Friday that gold prices gained more than $40 and then set a new high of $2,230 plus levels. Today’s push past $2,250 continues the climb.
All eyes on $2,300/oz
Each new high has shoppers and jewellery retailers talk about whether it can reach $2,300 in a matter of days. But everyone is sure about one point - these are never before seen moments for the asset.
"As everyone else, we are clueless as to what will happen to gold prices next," said Anil Dhanak, Managing Director of Kanz Jewels. "No one is sure what the 'new normal' gold price should be. Right now, it's only turning in one direction - Up. It's going to be highly unpredictable as to what's coming - there are so many reasons, US interest rates, elections being held in many parts of the world this year, and the two conflicts happening. Everything is adding to the uncertainty on gold."
Nothing like this has ever been seen before on gold prices. We have nothing to compare what's happening now on prices with anything from the past. All new and uncharted territory
Fairly brisk shopping
Since Friday (March 29), gold demand at UAE stores was rated as decent, with shoppers seeming bent on making purchases before there was another spike. This demand had more to do with Eid related shopping. Average price per transaction was on the lower side, and which is not any big surprise given that the gold rate was at Dh250.5 - a new high at that point.
We hope to see gold price momentum break or slow down if it hits $2,300 an ounce
Those shoppers sure seem to have made the right call, at least going by today's trends.
"Gold hitting $2,300 in this cycle should be very likely, as gold has got a very high momentum currently," said Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer at Century Financial. "This pace could have prices soaring past this mark in a few days or couple of weeks.
"There are multiple factors that are supporting gold prices - majorly, it has to do with talks of interest rate cuts. There is also the geopolitical tensions rising around the globe."
Resistance at $2,300?
According to some in the local gold and jewellery sector, resistance to further increases could set in at the $2,300 mark, if prices were to reach that point in the next few days. "We see a major psychological resistance at $2,300 - but for now the bullion market looks fairly bullish at the moment," said Thomas Scaria, General Manager - Finance at Joyalukkas. "And like everyone else, we too have been surprised by this level of momentum."
As for UAE's shoppers, all that they want to see is gold prices breaking this momentum - at the earliest.