Gold imports into Dubai jump 15% to 140 tonnes in first quarter

Gold imports into Dubai jumped 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2009, the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC) said yesterday. The emirate imported a total of 140 tonnes of gold in the first quarter of 2009, up 15 per cent as compared to 122 tonnes imported during January-March 2008.

Exports remained "steady" at 116 tonnes, a senior DMCC official said. In terms of value, gold traded from Dubai grew marginally to $7.4 billion from $7.06bn.

Ahmed bin Sulayem, the Executive Director of DMCC, said he expects gold traded from the DMCC, most of which meets the jewellery demand in the Indian sub-continent and in the Middle East, to continue to rise this year.

Gold imports to Dubai have risen 75 per cent in the period 2002-2008, while exports rose 83 per cent, Harendra Kailath, Director (Gold) at DMCC, said.

However, challenges have also emerged in the sector with the crisis seeping in and it particularly affecting demand for jewellery in Dubai during the first quarter of 2009, Ahmed said. "We attribute lower demand in jewellery in the first quarter to lower number of tourists and to higher gold prices."

Commodity traders and brokers in Dubai see demand for gold as a safe haven rising in 2009. While India and Pakistan were Dubai's top import partners during the first quarter of 2008, Switzerland and India were its top export partners. Jeffrey Rhodes, CEO of Dubai-based INTL Commodities, said Dubai could see a good share of Chinese gold exports being channeled through it. The Middle Kingdom became the largest producer of gold the last year, outranking South Africa.

"We do expect a good share of Chinese production being channeled through Dubai. About 650 tonnes of gold is channeled through Dubai annually and this figure could rise," Rhodes said.

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