Dubai: Anyone hoping for the Trump-Putin phone conversation to cool down gold prices will be disappointed – the ultimate ‘safe haven’ asset is right setting new records every other minute. At $3,038 an ounce, it looks good to break through past the $3,050 mark.
As for shoppers in the UAE, all they can do for now is keeping looking at a gram of 22K flashing a price of Dh338.75. Recent days have seen limited demand from consumers, and that will be no surprise. Even stray announcements of ‘0% making charges for the weekend’ wasn’t enough to get shoppers in the mood to buy.
“There’s little appetite among residents for gold – if $3,000 is going to be the new level, it will take time for them to adjust,” said the general manager at leading Dubai-based jeweller. “Last year at this time, gold was around $2,100 and shoppers were worried about that.”
And then, between April 2024 and March of 2025, gold went from $2,300 levels to $3,038. (Gold broke the $3,000 barrier on March 14, 2025.)
How should shoppers approach ‘Akshaya Trithiya’?
This year’s Indian festival of ‘Akshaya Trithiya’ will be marked on April 30. It usually makes one of the biggest single-day gold sales in the UAE retail calendar. (The festival is marked by Indians buying gold as an auspicious transaction.)
“There will be many Indian expats in UAE who would buy gold whatever be the price on the day of the festival,” said a retailer. “But $3,000 plus prices are uncharted territory for shoppers and retailers.
“All sorts of promotions have been offered – discounted making charges, gold raffles, free gold coins for purchases above a certain level, everything.”
Shoppers will now have to decide whether a price lock in at current Dubai gold rates would make sense to buy on or around April 30.
A price lock-in today would mean they book at Dh338.75 a gram – if prices rise from this on April 30, they get today’s rate. If prices drop, they go home with that price on April 30.
