Dubai gold rate steady for now - shoppers are going for price lock-in

Dubai: The Dubai gold price continues to be steady at Dh365.5 a gram for 22K at the start of the week – but with shoppers hoping to see a further slide. A week ago, the local price was Dh377.5.

At 9:45am, the rate firmed up to Dh366.75 a gram.

A trend that’s been noticeable over the weekend is many resident-shoppers booking to buy gold in 30 days rather than pick up something new at Dh365.5. These shoppers believe it would help them – possibly – get a lower price over the next 30 days if the current trends continue.

“There is a sense that gold price is going to lose all of the ‘fat’ that’s been added to it in the last 2-3 months,” said a jewellery retailer. “These shoppers had been waiting weeks or months to buy some additional gold – if gold falls under Dh365, they see an opening over the next 30 days.

“If not, they are willing to buy at Dh365.5 at the end of the 30-day period.”

That’s the advantage of the lock-in offers – if the price drops below the booked rate, shoppers get the lower price. If it goes up, they still need to pay at the rate they booked.

In the last 3 days, when gold prices started the drop, UAE jewellery retailers were taken aback by the kind of pent up demand that’s there among resident shoppers. Many of them proceeded to buy rather than wait, making use of the ongoing promotions as well as enter their names in DSS 2025 gold raffle draws, where the entry price is now Dh1,000.

After March 2025, bullion prices went all the way to $3,500 an ounce, and pushing the Dubai gold price to its highest point of just over Dh383 for a gram of 22K.

Today, bullion is at $3,278 an ounce and still looking like it could shed some more.

Locally, a 'fair' price for gold would be anything under Dh360, according to market sources. And around Dh350 would be a major bonus for shoppers.

In the coming days, UAE shoppers are hoping for just that...