Gold back near $2,000/oz, UAE consumers plan trade-ins

DUBAI: With the international gold price soaring to within reach of $2,000 an ounce, UAE consumers have another chance to trade gold for new jewelry – or outright cash. The metal is currently at $1,988 after surging $66 over the past 24 hours.

The price of 22K gold in the UAE stood at Dh223 per gram on Saturday morning, compared with an all-time high of Dh235 in early August 2020. It was the same last year, with gold prices surging to Dh234.5 in March after the Russia-Ukraine crisis erupted.

At or around these prices, UAE consumers have taken the opportunity to sell some of their gold and make a tidy profit. (The international gold market is closed for the weekend, meaning Dh223 will remain in effect until Monday.) This time, though, the UAE jewelry retailer expects shoppers to prefer “trade-in” options over pocket money. “A lot of shoppers are calling after seeing gold prices soaring all week,” one retailer said. Save some extra money.”

That’s likely on the minds of many shoppers.

For example, if consumers sold gold they bought five years ago, today’s price increase would be more than $600 an ounce. (One ounce equals just over 28 grams.) Some consumers may prefer to trade and pick up bars/coins so they can sell in their home country. (With Ramadan starting next week and schools out for spring break, there will be quite a few residents returning. Selling homes in India, for example, will yield an immediate 10-20% gain.)

Three words – a global banking crisis. If last week it was Silicon Valley Bank that fell off a cliff, this week there will be more turmoil in the banking sector – look at the position of Credit Suisse – enough to spook investors around the world. result?

Get in the gold market as quickly as possible and cement the metal’s unrivaled status as the ultimate safe haven. (Interestingly, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have also emerged from the recently extended deep freeze.)

If gold breaks above $2,000 next week, it will be the third breakout in as many years. Gold’s all-time high from August 2020 remains at $2,035.

A lot has changed in 10 days – on March 8, gold was at its lowest point this year at $1,810 an ounce (AED203 per gram in the UAE gold exchange rate) and shoppers are looking to make some purchases if gold falls to $1,780 – $1,790 level.

Between today and the end of this week, gold shoppers in the UAE will consider a different strategy – redemption.