Jewellery demand in UAE took a steep 20 per cent dip between April end of June from a year ago. In all, 10.6 tonnes of gold jewellery was sold in the second quarter against 13.2 tonnes in Q2-2022, as gold prices were $1,950 an ounce, according to World Gold Council data released on August 1.
Andrew Naylor, Head of ASEAN Markets and Public Policy at World Gold Council, which recently reopened its office in Dubai said: “Not just in the UAE, consumer demand for jewellery across most gold consuming markets - with the exception of China - was down in the second quarter."
In mid-June, UAE gold buyers and retailers had seen a glimmer of hope that prices were subsiding, and it did drop to under $1,910 an ounce. But it was all too brief a moment for demand to kick in. All through July gold was back to pushing higher, and jewellery retailers say there was subdued pre-summer holiday buying among resident shoppers.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished