Dubai: Shoppers in the UAE – both resident and tourist – went on a gold buying spree Wednesday (December 1) as prices dropped and jewellery sellers came up with UAE National Day promotions. Gold prices are still on the softer side early on Thursday, at $1,176 an ounce, a drop of nearly $5.
The first Dubai Gold Rate for the day is set at Dh202.25 a gram from the overnight Dh202.50. It is now at Dh201.5 a gram.
Wednesday’s rate was enough to trigger a gold rush at UAE jewellery stores, with some retailers saying it was the best sales day since November 4, which was when the Indian festival of ‘Diwali’ was celebrated and traditionally a big day for gold buying. (This is where you check the latest gold and remittance rates in the UAE.)
“Gold sales on December 1 ended 20-25 per cent from past year sales for this period,” said Abdul Salam K.P., Vice-Chairman at Malabar Gold & Diamonds. “The Dubai Gold Souq had extremely busy sales all day, and there was increased shopper traffic elsewhere in the UAE, with residents and tourists equally active.
“There is a wait-and-buy attitude when it comes to gold buying these days. Certain price drops seem to trigger the buying.”
Keep checking
In the international markets, bullion rates are in the $1,775-1,778 range early Thursday. Shoppers will do well to keep checking if they are in the mood to make any purchase today. (Markets and all asset classes are going through a period of uncertainty as the world debates what can be done to stem the impact of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19.)
End-of-year promotions
Shoppers are also making use of the end-of-year promotions that jewellery retailers have. This is the time when there are discounts on making charges, depending on the jewellery category. On some collections/categories, discounts of between 50-70 per cent are there on the making charges.
“Everything is coming together – gold price dipping is matched by the promotions and discounts,” said a retailer. “With tourist numbers set to be higher through December, UAE’s gold selling is in for a strong finish to 2021.”
Will gold price stay this way?
In the last 12 months, each time gold prices were seen as dropping more, it ended up disappointing shoppers. On March 31, the Dubai Gold Rate had slipped to Dh191.25 a gram – the lowest point this year – but then went to push its way back to the Dh200 and well over levels.
On January 6, the Dubai Gold Rate was Dh221.25, the highest for the year. And on May 27, it was at Dh216 a gram, and had been in the Dh206-Dh210 range for the most part in recent weeks. That’s why the Dh202 levels seem like a good bargain - and why shoppers are intent on making full use of it.
