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- Dubai 04:32 05:49 12:21 15:48 18:47 20:04
UAE residents bought jewellery weighing 16.5 tonnes in Q1 2015. (Najeeb Mohammed)
Jewellery demand in UAE dropped in Q1 2015 but not as steep compared to other Middle Eastern countries due to strong buying by Indian expatriates on the eve of ‘Akshaya Tritaya’ festival.
Demand for jewellery fell eight per cent in the UAE as compared to 15 per cent drop in Kuwait, 31 per cent in Egypt and 13 per cent in Iran, according to World Gold Council data for the first quarter of 2015.
Saudi Arabia bucked the trend, shining with five per cent increase in jewellery sales, it said.
“Demand in Dubai was relatively resilient, with a minor decline, compared to the wider region, of eight per cent. Akshaya Tritiya is gaining traction in the market as a gold-buying occasion, catering to the expat Indian community. This emerging trend has positive implications for future demand given the size of the Indian population,” WGC said in its quarterly report.
Considered to be a very lucky day, many people start new business or venture and buy gold or property on Akshaya Tritiya day – which was marked on April 21, 2015.
WGC attributed weaker economic growth, higher gold prices in local currency terms and rallying stock markets gave consumers in some markets reason to reappraise their gold buying intentions. A lack of consensus over the likely future direction of gold prices further hindered demand, it added.
UAE residents bought jewellery weighing 16.5 tonnes in Q1 2015 as against 18 tonnes in the same quarter last year, a drop of eight per cent. While total bars and coins of 3.3 tonnes were bought in Q1 2015 as compared to 3.2 tonnes during the comparative period, an increase of two per cent.
Overall consumer demand in UAE fell seven per cent to 19.8 tonnes from 21.2 tonnes, WGC data showed.
Globally, gold demand dipped one per cent to 1,079.3 tonnes in a generally quiet quarter for growth as India and the US could not prevent a modest downtick in jewellery demand.
Gold prices in Q1 in dollar terms dropped six per cent to $1,218.5/oz.
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