UAE gold rate drops first time in 7 days

Dubai

Dubai: The UAE’s gold rate has dropped for the first time in seven days, with the price set at Dh160.25 a gram for Wednesday, a Dh3.5 decline from Tuesday. But that is still quite a big difference from the Dh152.5 a gram gold was going for as recently as June 17.

Which means that Wednesday’s price drop may not be enough to convince local shoppers to start picking up gold again. It may take a while for them to adjust to the reality of higher gold prices after being used to seeing it range between Dh130-Dh135 a gram for the better part of two years.

Market sources are also unsure which way international gold price movements are headed in the short-term.

“International bullion prices dropped about $6 in early trading Wednesday to around $1,408.50 an ounce level due to profit taking by international investors,” said Cyriac Varghese at Sky Jewellery. “These changes are now reflected in the Dubai gold rate. “But this was expected after gold went past the $1,400 level, but this doesn’t mean the pressure on gold to move higher has disappeared completely. Everyone will have to wait and see when the bounce back happens – whether immediately or slightly later.”