Abu Dhabi gold sales up 20%

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SALES UP: The value of gold sales in Abu Dhabi rose 20$ in April, while volume increased 10%. (Getty Images)

Abu Dhabi's gold jewellery sales rose 10% in volume and 20% in value in April compared to the year-ago period on demand by foreign residents, the emirate's Gold and Jewellery Group chairman said on Monday.

"Expatriates, particularly from India, continued to buy gold jewellery as prices remained relatively low," the industry group's Tushar Patni told newswire Reuters.

"We are also seeing more wealthy buyers compared to other markets in the United Arab Emirates," he said in an interview.

Abu Dhabi's gold jewellery sales rose 10% in volume and 25% in value in March as the easing of prices from record highs spurred buying, Patni said.

Sales of gold jewellery in the capital were steady in volume in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier, but their value rose by 30% on record high gold prices, he added.

Gold rebounded on Monday as bargain hunters snapped up bullion after a fall to a four-month low last week, but trading was thin in the absence of Japanese speculators.

Gold rose to $863.20/864.45 an ounce from $855.80/857.00 an ounce late in New York on Friday, when it tumbled to $845 an ounce, its lowest since January 2, after the dollar jumped on better-than-expected US jobs data.

It has lost more than 16% in value since spiking to a record high of $1,030.80 an ounce on March 17.

"If prices remain around the current levels, and as we enter the summer holiday period, we will see higher sales as expatriates buy gold to take back home," Patni said.

Tax-free jewellery in the UAE lures many Gulf Arab and Western tourists.

Abu Dhabi has about 110 gold shops and its own jewellery manufacturers. Imports, however, make up almost 60% of all jewellery sold at retail outlets.

The UAE's full-year 2007 gold demand rose 8% to 99.8 tonnes, but it fell 8.1% to 19.3 tonnes in the fourth quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) has said.

Value of gold sales in the seven-member federation rose 23.8% to $2.6 billion in 2007. Fourth-quarter sales value reached $516 million, an almost 6% increase from the same period a year earlier, the council added. (Reuters)

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