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19 March 2024

Gold rate no more factor to buy jewellery in Dubai

Published
By Hana Al Mulla

The price of gold is no more a major factor when UAE residents are buying jewellery, Dubai gold souq merchants told Emirates 24|7.

“The gold rate does not have an effect on demand. People buy gold whenever they need it,” says Ahmed Abdul Aziz, Manager of Tilesh Jewellery.

“No one puts any effort into finding the rate of gold prior to visiting the gold shop,” he pointed out.

He added that his clients consist almost entirely of Emiratis.

Atul Jewellery sales representative, Sanjith Thekkedh, agreed.

He also said that the gold rate did not have much of an effect on their sales.

“The rate was Dh147 per gramme before the Eid season and Dh150 during the season.

“Although our Eid sales had risen, the difference [increase] of Dh3 [per gramme] did not have an impact on that,” he said.

For example, on a sale of 10 grammes, the increase comes to just Dh30.

Summer sales at Dubai’s gold souq were down 25 per cent - as some merchants reported - but Eid Al Fitr helped bring some sparkle and shine to the market.

Before and during Eid Al Fitr, higher demand led to significant sales, said Jenny Buabo, a Damas Jewellery sales representative.

“This year’s Eid sales rose by 15 per cent - while last year’s sales showed around 32 per cent growth,” Buabo said.

Shanky Bansel, a Pure Gold Jewellery Sales Representative said their sales had also risen during the Eid season. His clients range from expats to citizens.

For some gold souq merchants the Eid sales euphoria has lingered.

Dharmendra Jewellery Sales Representative, Hatish Josh, said after the Eid season, there was a “very good” sales growth of 5–10 per cent.

He said the gold rate was higher this Eid season, and therefore the demand was low.

He said. “[But for us] the demand was surprisingly still better than last year’s,” Josh said.

Manager of Tilesh Jewellery, Ahmed Abdul Aziz said: “We did much better this Eid season than this summer, when we saw a steep of decline of 25 per cent in sales.”

Compared to last year’s Eid season, “we did slightly better on sales,” he said.

Generally, the gold rate in Dubai is around Dh150 per gramme. The selling price varies from Dh10–15 because of jewellery making charges.