Dubai Gold Price hits a new record - and then slides

Dubai: The Dubai Gold Rate set a new record last evening – and then slipped. But not by much as gold continues to keep its volatility hat on.

A gram of 22K was last night priced at Dh381.75, beating the previous high by 25 fils, which was set as recently as April 21. (In comparison, the 24K gram was Dh412.5 last evening.)

But this morning, the local gold price had shed some of those highs, and is at Dh375.25, while the 24K is Dh405.25.

Shoppers in the UAE, including tourist buyers, are sitting on the sidelines until the volatility ceases.

"Gold jewellery shopping is back to being limited to special occasions," said a retailer. "But there is a lot of activity still around gold, but principally in investing through the monthly instalments."

As for shoppers, waiting out the next 24 hours would be ideal. There is the US Federal Reserve meeting today, but likely to see no interest rate cuts. At the very least, if the Fed provides some insight into their thinking on when more rate cuts could happen, that should ease some of the action around gold.

In the metals market, gold is trading in the range of $3,350-3,425 an ounce. Right now, it is at $3,388 and showing every sign of making another break for $3,400.

"Shoppers are definitely better off waiting this out," said a jeweller. "It's going to be a long day for the UAE gold trade."