Commodity Online
DUBAI: Dubai, the city of gold in the Middle East, has shown its ability to live up to its reputation by weathering the recession storm well in the first quarter of the year.

A recent report said Dubai’s gold imports have gone up by 15 per cent at 140 tonnes in the first quarter of the year as compared to the same period last year.

Dubai World Group said the value of the gold trade jumped by 5% to $7.4 billion in the first three months of the year.

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The report said Dubai exported 116 tonnes of gold in January to March. Switzerland and India were the top exporters to the emirate in the quarter, while Pakistan and India were the leading importers from Dubai.

India, the biggest importer of gold in the world, turned an exporter of the yellow metal to Dubai in February and March months following a huge rise in scrap gold sales.

Dubai has a long-established market for gold bullion and jewellery fuelled by strong demand from the Arab world and India.

The trade data indicated Dubai was coping well with the global financial crisis.

There are sufficient reasons to remain bullish about Dubai’s ability to ride out the storm. According to a WGC report last month, gold investment in the Middle East jumped 38% in 2008 compared with 2007’s fourth quarter. Saudi Arabia saw a massive 300% jump in investment demand, Egypt 67% and other Gulf countries registered a 2% increase.

While UAE gold jewellery sales increased by 17% in 2008 to exceed $3.73 billion. Total gold demand in the Middle East was up 1% in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with 2007.

Nearly 90% of total consumer offtake in the region is in the form of jewellery. Weakness in this sector which was down 7% largely offset strong growth of 139% in the net retail investment.

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