Gold prices in Dubai ticked up on Thursday morning but stayed below the psychological Dh500-a-gram mark, a development welcomed by the city's Indian community as it gears up for the festive gold-buying season around Dhanteras and Diwali.
24-karat gold was trading at Dh499.75 per gram on Thursday morning, recovering around Dh7 from Wednesday's close of Dh492.75. Lower-karat variants also moved in step: 22-karat gold stood at Dh462.75, 21-karat at Dh443.50, and 18-karat at Dh380.25 per gram.
The local move tracked international markets, where spot gold rose 1.4 per cent to $4,144 an ounce on Thursday, clawing back some of Wednesday's drop of more than 1 per cent. That earlier dip followed stronger-than-expected US inflation data, which raised expectations that the Federal Reserve could take a tougher stance on interest rates.
For Dubai's Indian expatriate community — the UAE's largest expatriate group — the timing matters. Buying gold around Dhanteras and Diwali is considered auspicious in Indian tradition, and jewellers in the city say the recent dip in prices has given shoppers room to buy larger quantities or trade up to heavier pieces during the festive period.
As one of the region's key gold trading hubs, Dubai's retail prices typically move in close sync with global spot prices, with jewellers across the city updating their rate boards each morning to reflect the latest shifts in the international market.