More People Buying Gold In UAE

MORE PEOPLE WERE Buying Gold in June in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, than last year, as expatriates on holidays had more disposable income than a year ago, said retailers.

"During June and July many people travel for the summer and Buy Gold as gifts," said Tushar Patni, head of the largest jeweller in Abu Dhabi. "This year people had a little more money to spend compared to last year."

"The prices did come down a little bit (in Juy) which also encouraged people to start Buying Gold a little bit more," said a Dubai gold salesman.

However, retailers expect gold sales to slow down again as the holy month of Ramadan, the month where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, begins.

"The sales during Ramadan are always slow as people focus more on buying food than Buying Gold," said Patni.

On the investment side, gold has performed fantastically, with Gold Futures volumes, on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), rising 24 percent in June compared with the previous month.

"In the UAE and the Gulf in general there is an interest from investors to Buy Gold but there are not enough products out there, so there's a gap in the market that needs to be filled," said Pradeep Unni, senior gold analyst and trader at Richcomm Global Services.

The UAE is a large consumer of retail gold in the Middle East, with almost a third of the 65.8 tonnes of demand in the Middle East coming from the UAE.