Egyptians carry on tradition of entrusting savings to gold

Egyptians carry on tradition of entrusting savings to gold

According to a report by the World Gold Council, spending on gold jewelry increased by 60% during the first nine months of 2021, compared to the same period last year. Egypt registered about 2% of global spending on gold.

Egyptians spent about 19.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.22 billion) on about 21.1 tons of gold in 2021, compared to about 12 billion pounds ($763.1 million) on about 13.8 tons in 2020.

The uptick is due to rising demand for gold as a safe investment option in light of the Central Bank's interest rate cuts to 8.25% for savings and 9.25% for loans, as well as a stable exchange rate for the Egyptian pound against the US dollar.