Gold prices in Dubai took another dip on Thursday, continuing their slide from the record highs we saw in January. By 8am, 24-karat gold was going for Dh586.25 per gram, down from Dh593.50 the day before. Meanwhile, 22-karat dropped to Dh542.75 from Dh549.50.
The lower prices are starting to catch the eye of shoppers who held back during January’s wild rally. But don’t expect a rush just yet — people are being careful because the market’s still all over the place.
February kicked off on shaky ground after January ended with some serious drama. Local gold prices shot up in late January, with 24-karat briefly hitting nearly Dh640 per gram on January 28. Then came the sharp reversal. After January 29, prices dropped fast, wiping out a big chunk of those gains in just a few days. There was a brief pause around Dh594 in early February, but this week the downward momentum picked up again.
Here’s the thing though: even with the pullback, gold is still way above where it was in early January, when 24-karat was trading around Dh536 per gram. What we’re seeing isn’t really a clear trend in either direction — it’s just a lot of sharp ups and downs. And that’s keeping dealers focused on what’s happening day to day rather than the bigger picture.
On the global stage, gold has been struggling to find its footing after last week’s steep sell-off. It’s slipped below $5,000 an ounce and has been stuck in a tight range as investors cash out profits and wait for clearer signals. Sure, prices are still up more than 10 per cent so far this year, but they’re nowhere near that January peak.
There’s still some support coming from geopolitical tensions and policy uncertainty in the background, but traders seem hesitant to make any big moves right now. That’s leaving the gold market pretty reactive to whatever happens next.
— With inputs from Bloomberg
