By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE's golden jewellery demand dropped 2% to 42.8 tonnes in 2017 from 43.4 tonnes a year earlier, recording its fourth successive annual decline, the World Gold Council said in a report.
UAE per capita consumer gold demand tumbled 4% to 4.8 grams in 2017, compared to 5 grams a year earlier, the report added.
The low demand for jewellery is normal, given the increase in prices, which make tourists, especially Indians, reluctant to buy, said market analyst Mohammed Abdullah.
The UAE’s gold market will flourish again with the economic improvement and the growth in the number of tourists, Abdullah added.
Cryptocurrencies attracted the majority of investors in the UAE, which in return slowed down gold purchases, adding to the impact of the value-added tax (VAT) on the market, financial analyst Razan Shahwan commented.
2017 Prices
The prices of gold soared 13.5% year-on-year in 2017, as the per-gram-price of 24-Carat gold reached AED 154.35 last year.
Meanwhile, the per-gram-price of 22-Carat, 21-Carat, and 18-Carat gold registered AED 141.48, AED 135.05, and AED 115.76, respectively in the last four quarters.
Translated by: Muhammad Khalid
