Will UAE’s Indian expats shop for gold today, on ‘Akshaya Trithiya’?

  • Date: 14-May-2021
  • Source: Gulf News
  • Sector:Oil & Gas
  • Country:UAE
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Will UAE’s Indian expats shop for gold today, on ‘Akshaya Trithiya’?

Dubai: Gold shoppers in the UAE and elsewhere will not be getting a favourable price break for today’s ‘Akshaya Trithiya’, the Indian festival where buying gold on the day is believed to bring good fortune for the rest of the 12 months. Gold prices was under some pressure over the last two days, but were heading back up early Friday (May 14). It is currently at $1,824 an ounce level, while the Dubai Gold Rate will start from around Dh207.25 a gram. (It was at Dh206.5 early Thursday and Dh208.25 on Wednesday evening.) Clearly, any hope that prices could slip even by a dirham or two are dashed by the way gold is performing in the global metals market Friday. Even then, shoppers and UAE jewellery retailers are bracing for what could be the worst Akshaya Trithiya sales ever. “Demand for buying on festival day is down 50-60 per cent from what it was last year – and in 2020, shoppers and the trade had to contend with the COVID-19 created lockdown measures,” said the head of a leading jewellery house in Dubai. “This drop in demand is not about gold prices alone – it’s the sentiment over what’s happening