The price of gold in the local market has shot up to record highs since the global financial crisis struck. The prices of 22 karat gold was at QR105 per gram yesterday, which was the highest price recorded over the past few months, say the traders.
Prices had shot up to an all-time high in March last year, touching QR114 per gram. Prices of 24 karat gold yesterday stood at QR12,770 for 10 tola (QR109.5 per gram) against QR12,370 (QR106 per gram) recorded in the beginning of last week. Over the past week, the prices have gone up by QR3 per gram, with a rise of QR1 over this week-end.
The high prices have not, however, prompted many customers here to divert investments to the yellow metal, probably due to the fluctuating prices. Traders say that their sales had in fact dropped significantly over the past two months.
“Compared to December, the sales had dropped by about 25 percent in January. Customers have adopted a wait and watch approach. People have become weary of spending after the financial crisis,” said a salesman from a jewellery outlet in the Airport area.
He said the fluctuating prices had also contributed to the uncertainty in the market. Those who want to invest in gold may be fearing a future crash in the prices while those who want to buy gold for personal use may be waiting for a fall in the prices.
An official from another jewellery outlet in the Share-e-Kahraba area said that their sales had dropped by about 50 percent over the past two months. “The whole market is affected by the financial crisis and gold is no exception,” he said. Most traders expect the prices to come down in the coming days, although they say that no predictions were possible. The fluctuating gold prices have been attributed to the unstable share markets all over the world.
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