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.
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Mumbai: For a second year in a row, most jewelers in India have shuttered their stores on a day considered one of the most auspicious to buy gold as the country grapples with the world s worst health crisis.
Purchases of valuables including bullion on Akshaya Tritiya are considered to bring luck and prosperity by Hindus. That tradition has been tested since last year as buyers now have to rely on either online purchases or forgo it entirely due to restrictions on stepping out and conducting business activity as coronavirus infections and deaths surge in India. Unfortunately about 80 per cent of the country is in a lockdown and sales will be impacted again this year, said Ashish Pethe, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council. The second wave is much more severe than last year and the mood is also very somber with almost every family touched by the virus. So no one is in the mood to buy gold.
Dubai: UAE’s gold and jewellery retailers are lining up the biggest discounts ever to get some buying activity for this Friday’s ‘Akshaya Trithiya’, the Indian festival that’s considered ideal for gold purchases. This is also one of the key sales phases for the UAE’s gold retail sector, apart from the campaigns for DSF and Diwali, the other prominent Indian festival.
“Offers are on with retailers removing making charges on some collections, or selling them “at cost”, which essentially means a 20 per cent discount,” said Chandu Siroya of Siroya Jewellers, one of the biggest names in local gold wholesale space. “Typical promotions are in the 10 per cent off on making charges – but these are not normal times.”