BATOOL GHAITH (ABU DHABI)
Gold prices are sliding, and Abu Dhabi’s jewellery shops are seeing a familiar rush among shoppers eager to buy before the rates climb back up.
Prices for 21K gold hovered around Dh435 per gram on Wednesday, with 18K trading at Dh372-Dh373, well below the record highs of over Dh550 for 21K in March.
The dip has already translated into a 30-40% jump in demand for Al Romaizan Gold and Jewellery, according to Aref Hasan, who supervises the chain’s Abu Dhabi branches.
Customers are snapping up 24K gold bars in particular, treating gold more as an investment rather than an accessory. “There has also been much more awareness about gold now thanks to social media and exposure to news,” Hasan told Aletihad.
In Abu Dhabi’s Madinat Zayed, Ramees Siraj has been seeing two kinds of buyers at his shop, Al Siraj Jewellery. There are those who buy the moment prices drop, and others who stock up in time for summer vacations, carrying gold home as they travel, he said.
“There has been a drastic difference in demand since Covid-19, especially for 24-karat gold bars,” Siraj said. “Since then, demand has doubled because more people are buying gold as an investment or as a form of savings.”
At Al Raya Jewellery in the Baniyas gold souq, sales manager Mohammad Ali went as far as saying demand hasn’t just grown since the pandemic - it’s gone “over the top”.
“Some people even take out loans to buy gold,” Ali said. Customers continue buying regardless of price fluctuations, he added, noting that such appetite is usually seen among 18-to-30-year-olds.
For Ali, that’s a sign more people understand gold’s staying power. “People are realising the value of gold, so whenever prices drop, they want to buy because they feel they missed the opportunity when prices were much lower a few years ago,” he told Aletihad.
He attributes this to the shift to smartphones and digital platforms.
“Before, people could not easily know whether gold prices had gone up or down. They had to visit jewellery shops to ask. Today, with social media and the digital age, everyone has access to prices,” he said.