Category: Gold news

Dubai gold sales surge, helped along by India

It is not just India that is witnessing a gold rush. Gold bullion trade is hitting astronomical levels in another gold center in the East, Dubai, which has seen demand for the precious metal surge since the price collapse in April.

Dubai is referred to as the city of gold. With the recent gold price dip and the massive rush in demand, it appears to be living up to the name.

Even as the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange notched up a significant growth milestone in April, with cumulative trading volumes since inception crossing $1 trillion in value, there is just no stopping the mad rush for the yellow metal. Gold demand in Dubai was reportedly running at 10 times the normal levels in April.

Demand in May has apparently not sloughed off and is far outstripping supply. Record buying levels in Dubai are emptying the nation’s gold souks, with retailers paying record premiums to restock.

Local bank Emirates NBD put out a report this month, in which it advised investors that participants of the physical industry in Dubai have bought an additional 50 tonnes of gold since the price crash in April.

Expat Indians are reportedly rushing to buy 22 carat gold from Dubai’s numerous jewellery stores in addition to the city’s iconic gold souks, where there are more than 250 gold shops in one area. In the latest quarter, World Gold Council data showed the UAE saw gold demand rise by 12% as compared with the same period of 2012, with growth in the UAE largely representing purchases of 22 carat gold among expat Indian consumers.

The sharp drop in gold prices is driving Indian consumers to Dubai in droves, with a majority of shoppers queuing up in front of jewellery stores in the Meena Bazaar and the gold souk area in Dubai. A sizeable segment of the shoppers are from Kerala in South India.

At Kanz Jewels in Dubai, which is a retailer with six stores, with its flagship store dating back to the 1940s when traders from India pitched their stalls, there is a sea of Indians busy shopping. The shop is crammed with buyers crowding around the glittering gold jewels on display.

A recent group of 21 doctors and chemists from Chennai in South India, visited the store in Dubai specifically to buy the metal. The urgency: gold in Dubai is much purer and shiny yellow than jewellery bought in Chennai.

And with many gold souks in Dubai catering to the styles and designs prevalent in South India, which leans towards heavy, elaborate ruby-encrusted neck-pieces and thick waist bands with dangling bells, these Indians prefer to buy their gold from Dubai and capitalise on gold’s shiny new price.

A similar situation is witnessed across many of Dubai’s bullion stores. In the middle of the day and unlike many of the city’s malls which are relatively empty at that time, the gold souk is teeming with tourists and residents.

Unlike the Chinese driven Singapore, the market in Dubai is dominated by Indians. Sanjeev Jain, president of the Jain Social Group, which is a conglomerate of gold and diamond traders, says that many Dubai merchants have reported that their sales have shot up by 400% after the recent price plunge.

“Although Arabic is the official language in Dubai, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Telugu, Bengali and Tamil are also prevalent all across. Barring Persian, all the rest are Indian languages, which gives an idea of the country’s vast number of India tourists,” said Kapilesh Mayya Moplah, bullion trader in Mumbai who owns three stores in Dubai.

He pointed out that “the souk’s main thoroughfare, Sikkat Al Khail street, has an estimated 25 tonnes of gold on display at any given point of time. How can any Indian passing by not be tempted to venture in after some window shopping?”

The return of the retail buyer over the last two months has shown the depth and strength of the gold market in Dubai. Though gold coins and bars are also flying off the shelves, the bulk of purchases have been jewellery, especially since prices have fallen to record lows

On May 31, the per gram retail price for 24 carat gold in Dubai was at $44.89. In India, coincidentally it was the same at $44.89 per gram.

The sharp drop in gold price has coincided with the marriage season in Kerala that starts from mid-June. That, retailers say, is one of the significant contributing factors driving up demand from expat Indians. Large quantities of gold from the United Arab Emirates has always flown into Kerala. Though it has only 3% of the population, Kerala consumes over 20% of India’s gold.

RECORD AT EXCHANGE

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange too reflected the massive jump in demand. Since its launch in 2005, the Exchange has traded 24.5 million contracts, valued at $1.025 trillion

According to a media statement issued by the Exchange, the major milestone achieved in its eighth year since inception, was on the back of a substantial year on year volume growth of 139% in April. Volumes in April totalled 1,336,942 contracts, valued at $48.73 billion.

According to the Exchange, currency volumes in April was led by one of the exchange’s flagship contracts, the Indian rupee futures. With a year on year increase of 145%, Indian rupee futures registered a total monthly volume of 1,223,960 contracts.

Meanwhile, the exchange’s recently launched Mini Indian Rupee futures, traded 44,161 contracts in its first full month of trading. The mini contract, which is one tenth the size of the main Indian Rupee Futures contract, provides a cost-effective hedging and arbitraging tool for retail remitters and investors. It is the first of its kind to be introduced in the region and outside of India.

June 3, 2013
Gold Rate Update : Gold Reclaims Gains ABove $1400

Gold / US Dollar Spot finally hacked consolidation area that we saw days ago, as the U.S. dollar fell broadly after the GNP data for the first quarter, and pending home sales and jobless claims, which did not correspond with expectations.

Data issued by the Department of Commerce show that the world’s largest economy grew at an annual rate of 2.4% during the first quarter, down from an initial estimate of 2.5%. Separately, the Department of Labor issued a report that the number of American citizens who have applied for unemployment benefits for the first time increased by 10000 to 354000. According to figures from the National Association of Realtors, the pending home sales index rose by only 0.3% during the month of April, after increasing by 1.5% during the month of March.

The gold pair / U.S. dollar at the height arrived in 1418 as the economic data from the United States kind, eased fears that the Fed could reduce the purchase program of its own assets. As I mentioned yesterday, the key to upward continuity of the level of 1400 and the reserve price for a period of 10 days and now we are deliberating over this barrier. On the chart for four hours, moving the pair gold / dollar above the cloud , and intersects the line “Tinkan – age” (moving average for the period ninth – red line) above the line “Keygen – age” (moving average of 26 days – the Green Line) . More importantly, after reaching the resistance level at 1411, prices fell, and examined the level of 1400 as a support level.

May 31, 2013
Gold rises to highest level in two weeks amid hopes for continued monetary stimulus

Gold price rose to its highest level in two weeks on Friday after weak economic data from the United States dispelled fears that the feet of the Federal Reserve (the U.S. central bank) will soon reduce the bond-buying program, which supports the precious metal.

The metal benefited, which is a tool to hedge against inflation rise in holdings of gold-backed ETF for the first time in three weeks.

Gold rose in the spot market up 0.2 percent to $ 1416.66 an ounce by 0649 GMT. Scored earlier in 1421 dollars, a level not informing him since May 15.

The futures rose gold U.S. $ 4.40 to U.S. $ 1415.9 per ounce.

But gold still down about 16 percent compared to the beginning of the year and is about to record low for the second month in a row.

It was the fear that the U.S. central bank begins to reduce its program to buy bonds worth 85 billion dollars a month by the summer has sparked a wave sale of gold and led to a rise in the dollar.

Silver rose in the spot market 0.3 percent to $ 22.80 an ounce. Platinum fell 0.5 percent to $ 1474.24 an ounce and palladium fell 0.5 percent, also to $ 751.72 an ounce

(Reuters)

May 31, 2013
Gold Rate Update : Gold rises to highest price

Gold Futures rose sharply went on Thursday to climb above the level of 1400, as the U.S. dollar sold off against the yen and Japan’s Nikkei index fell more than 5%.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, traded gold futures for August delivery at $ 1 407.45 a troy ounce during European morning hours, up 1.15% from the previous day.

Gold prices rose in the COMEX by up to 1.3% earlier in the session to reach its highest price for the day at 1, 410.25 dollars an ounce, the highest price since May 22.

Was likely to find support at 1 gold, $ 353.55 an ounce, the lowest price since May 22, and the near-term resistance at 1, 413.05, dollars, and the text of the highest price since May 22.

Gold’s gains came as the dollar fell below the key support level to reach its lowest price in three weeks against the yen, which led to the decline of the dollar against all other major currencies.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose 0.25% to trade at 83.46, the lowest Sarmund May 14.

Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

At the same time, in Japan, the Nikkei index fell 5.2 percent to the lowest price for one month, which boosted the safe-haven appeal of the precious metal.

Precious metals, which are not as tied to economic cycles as well as many commodities, stocks, and are often purchased for portfolio diversification and to ensure against losses elsewhere.

Gold dealers awaited U.S. report on weekly jobless claims later in the World Day amid ongoing speculation over whether the Fed will reduce its asset purchase program of $ 85 billion

Tracks the movements in the price of gold this year, largely transform expectations about whether the U.S. central bank bond-buying program will end sooner than expected.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver rose for July delivery rose 0.5% to trade at 22.57 dollars per ounce while Copper for July delivery fell 0.3% to trade at $ 3.286 a pound

May 31, 2013
Gold rising to the highest level of $ 1,400 an ounce as the dollar fell and stocks

Gold rose in trading the morning of Thursday to its highest level in one week, to reduce the losses recorded for the second consecutive month, came the rise today amid dollar fell for a second day and stocks also increased prices also both silver, platinum and palladium, to record gold prices in trading instant in the morning at about 1.3% to the level of $ 1411.27 an ounce, the highest level since May 22 rise level of $ 1,408.70 an ounce at 2:23 Although climb still prices declining by about 4.6% during the month and declining by about 16% this year after turned this month bear market amid speculation that the Fed will reduce monetary stimulus in the world’s biggest economies with pointed to recover the economic as well as rising stocks and declining confidence of investors in the metal as inventory value, pushing the dollar index upward by about 4.6%. It also increased the price of gold futures in New York for the month of August by about 1.3% to the level of $ 1410.40 an ounce Mercantile Exchange Comex, and on the other side recorded silver in trading instant morning rose by 0.5% to a level of 22.595 $ per ounce for the contraction of the fourth monthly decline them. While Platinum rose 0.4%, to a level of $ 1460.05 an ounce and palladium rose 0.4%, to a level of $ 751.80 an ounce.

May 31, 2013
The Week Ahead: Gold prices are trading low

Gold thrives in times of turmoil. The stock market’s recent highs, the job market’s slow improvement, and increasing consumer confidence do not make for the chaos that benefits gold. When the economy swoons, that’s when gold booms. But gold prices are near two-and-a-half-year lows as a new week of trading begins.

Six weeks ago, the price of an ounce of gold fell $225 in two days. That 14 percent drop was a stark reminder to gold investors that nothing is without risk, even one of the world’s oldest and most treasured assets. After rebounding a little, gold is whipsawing investors who had turned to it for protection.

For the better part of a decade, it was difficult not to make money owning gold. The precious metal had climbed from $350 in 2003 to $1,800 an ounce last fall. The threat of global terrorism, the Great Recession, and massive government and central bank spending has underpinned the demand for gold from investors. Anxiety about inflation and government budget deficits has led to billions of dollars pouring into gold.

The investment industry also has helped. No longer do you have to buy bullion or even coins. Gold investing has expanded way beyond miners and numismatists. Exchange-traded funds, sector funds and specialized mutual funds have been created to make it easier to buy gold, opening the door to less-sophisticated investors.

All the worries that helped fuel the gold rally remain. But just as pure gold is pliable, so too is the sentiment of its investors.

May 26, 2013
Has the gold rush come to an end?

Dubai Gold – When the price of gold plunged $200 last month, many people thought they caught the sound of the gold bubble popping. What Peter Schiff, the CEO of brokerage Euro Pacific Precious Metals believes he heard was a stampede of fair-weather speculators fleeing the precious metal.

Schiff and other champions of gold weren’t shaken by the plunge. To them it was just a short breather in preparation for another long climb.

All the reasons they give for buying gold haven’t changed: Gold remains a refuge from disaster, they say, arguing that a steep drop in the dollar and a spike in the price of consumer goods are a threat.

For speculators, buying gold was simply a way to profit from its popularity.

“That’s what happens in a bull market,” Schiff says. “The selloffs shake out the Johnny-come-latelies. It’s healthy. Now we can have a real rally.”

Gold, often touted as the most trustworthy of investments, has looked wild over the past month. After starting April above $1,600 an ounce, it dropped below $1,361 on April 15 and has steadily recovered to settle at $1,436 on Friday.

Gold was supposed to be a haven from turmoil. When the housing market started cracking and the stock market sank in 2007, the price of gold began to surge. Over the next two years, it soared from around $600 an ounce to nearly $900 in the depths of the financial crisis in late 2008.

For those who were wary of financial institutions or thought the Federal Reserve’s rescue efforts would backfire, it became the favored investment. The television personality Glenn Beck advised his audience to stock up on gold bars in case the dollar became worthless. The tea party called for a return to linking the value of the dollar to the price of gold.

“People treated gold like the cure for everything,” says James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis. “If you were worried about a depression, buy gold. If you were worried about inflation, buy gold.”

If fear of economic collapse started the gold rally, greed accelerated it. By 2009, speculators and others looked to ride gold’s popularity. Hedge funds and other big investors piled in.

Anxiety and gold prices kept climbing in tandem. Right after Standard & Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its top credit rating in August 2011, the price peaked above $1,900.

Instead of buying gold bricks and stashing them in their basement, many hedge funds and big investors turned to buying gold exchange-traded funds, which trade on markets like stocks. The most popular offering, the SPDR Gold Trust, attracted big investors like John Paulsen, who made billions betting on the mortgage meltdown, and George Soros.

As money poured in, the SPDR Gold Trust grew into the second-largest largest exchange-traded fund behind the SPDR S&P 500, which follows the stock market. And its supply of gold swelled from 780 metric tons at the start of 2009 to 1,353 metric tons in December.

But now it looks like the fast-money has soured on the yellow metal. George Soros slashed his stake in the SPDR Gold Trust fund by 55 percent at the end of last year, according to the most recent regulatory filing.

Judging by the numbers, it looks like others decided to jump out of the market at the same time. Hedge funds and big investors pulled $8.7 billion out of gold funds last month, according to EPFR Global, a firm that tracks where big investors put their money.

EPFR says it was the biggest monthly withdrawal out of gold funds since the firm started collecting data in 2000. The SPDR Gold Trust unloaded 12 percent of its gold in April, selling 146 metric tons.

There’s no single destination for all the money rushing out of gold, says Cameron Brandt, EPFR’s director of research. The most popular places for investors now are real estate funds, junk bonds, emerging-market bonds and stocks in big companies that pay dividends. One clear trend that Brandt sees is investors pulling cash out of the safety of money-market funds in search of something better. Some of that money appears to be trickling back into the U.S. stock market.

So where’s gold headed next?

The answer depends partly on where you think inflation is headed. At one extreme, Schiff and others in his camp believe the Fed will eventually let inflation loose and gold will hit $2,000.

“They’re going to print and print until money is worthless, or they run out of trees,” Schiff says. “I think people will look back at this time period and think, `Wow, what a great opportunity.’”

Others see no reason for gold to resume its climb. They point to a recent academic study that said current consumer prices imply a gold price below $800 an ounce. Gold forecasts from Wall Street banks sit somewhere in the middle.

Samuel Lee, an ETF strategist at Morningstar in Chicago, has less than 5 percent of a portfolio he manages in gold, and plans to keep it that way. He considers gold a protection against inflation over the very long-term – from 50 to 100 years.

Lee says he isn’t sure where gold prices are going this year or the next, “but I’m convinced they won’t do as well as stocks.” He adds, “I’m not really a big believer in gold. I’m fully aware that it can lose me a lot of money. I just care that it gives me some diversification.”

With banks looking stable and the economy slowly improving, there’s less of a need to hide in the gold market. Fear of another financial crisis has diminished.

Ralph Preston, a market analyst and broker at Heritage West Financial in San Diego, Calif., envisions a few scenarios in which gold could shoot higher this year. If the war in Syria spreads, or if North Korea launches an attack on other countries in Asia, it could head back above $1,900.

“Owning a little bit of gold is probably not a bad idea,” he says. “But I don’t think we’ll be using it to buy groceries someday.”

May 24, 2013
Dubai strongest globally as a center for gold and diamonds

Increasing amounts of gold and diamonds that are actually traded through Dubai is rapidly reinforcing the emirate’s position as a global hub for trade in goods the main rival of the world’s major centers in the European continent.

A report published by the “Med” yesterday statistics reveal the trading value of $ 70 billion of gold in 2012 with a high weighting to higher levels through 2013. The size of the value of the gold market in Dubai in 2012 is equivalent to 12 times its size in 2003 as a trading value of only $ 6 billion.

And recorded diamond trade growth steady also, the value of diamonds were traded early last decade between 3 to 5 million dollars it soon rose in 2011 to $ 39 billion, and continues to the size of the diamond market in Dubai to grow, where he scored two months the first and second This year’s trades amounted to 20 million carats, an increase of 7% compared with the same period of last year, this is equivalent to $ 9.1 billion or an increase of 11% compared with the value of a diamond, which has been trading the same period in 2012.

And playing center DMCC, which was founded in 2002 a major role in this growth, promotes excellence Dubai in the markets of precious metals and gems world by encouraging companies to work from the free zone developed by the center in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, as well as providing distinctive services to companies and investors, such as Wallet service and Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange.

Adding to the importance of the center announcement earlier this month for the determination of the company “Kaluti” the British set up a factory for gold jewelry at a cost of $ 60 million in the free zone in question, it is expected that the plant starts production in 2014 card up to 1400 tons of gold and 600 tons of silver and other precious metals.

May 23, 2013
Dubai’s Most Luxurious Hotel Is Giving Guests 24-Carat Gold iPads

Dubai Gold – Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel, arguably the world’s most luxurious hotel, just unveiled its newest luxury amenity: 24-carat gold iPads.

When guests check in, they’ll be given their own gold iPads, which will serve as a “virtual concierge” that offers information on everything from the hotel’s restaurant menus and spa treatments to housekeeping and butler services.

The gold iPads were custom created for the hotel by British brand Gold & Co.

The hotel already has an iMac in each of its 202 rooms, in addition to other luxury amenities, like walk-in showers and Jacuzzis, large plasma TVs, and private butler service.

This isn’t the first time the hotel has introduced iPads in its rooms: In October 2012, the hotel showed off a 24-carat rose gold iPad in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which was engraved with a pink ribbon and the hotel’s logo.

Guests will be given the iPads just during the course of their stay at the hotel. If they want to take the luxury gadgets home with them, they’ll have to buy it from the hotel’s boutique.

The gold iPads may seem like an absurd and unnecessary extravagance, but when you’re paying $1,500 per night (the starting rate for a double room), you expect the ultimate in luxury—and Burj Al Arab delivers.

May 21, 2013
George Soros continues to reduce his Gold holdings by 12%

Gold futures fell for the sixth day in a row to be the longest string since December 2011, in conjunction with the reduction of Soros possessing of precious metal products in index funds, and continued pressure on the euro by the dollar.

Investor George Soros joined to Northn Trust Corp. and BlackRock in reducing the possession of gold-backed ETF in the first quarter, while John Paulson kept his stake, which lost $ 165 million.

Fund cut Soros Management refuted the possessing in SPDR Gold Trust the largest gold-backed funds 12 percent to 530.9 thousand shares in the thirty-first of March, compared with the previous three months that ended in the thirty-first of December.

At a time when reduced funds managed Northn Trust Corp. BlackRock the retained possession when 21.8 million shares.

The reduction done by the ‘Soros’ for possession of gold in the first quarter came after a sharp cut by 55 percent in the last three months of last year.

It is well known that the famous billionaire Warren Buffett said in his annual address to shareholders of his company Berkshire Hathaway is the second of May to the need to avoid gold, where he said «that if they fell below $ 800 will not buy it.

13% decline

For his part, the World Gold Council said yesterday that demand for the precious metal fell 13 percent in the first quarter to its lowest level in nine years, as investors exceeded sales in its subsidized products in index funds buying boom in India and China.

The Council, which is headquartered in London, in a report issued Thursday that global demand for gold fell to 963 metric tons in the first quarter, compared with 1107.5 tonnes a year ago.

This figure is the lowest since the first quarter of 2010 when demand for the metal reached 658 metric tons.
And contributed to the record demand from China jewelry in raising the total consumption of the precious metal in the world’s second largest economy to exceed India, at which time it grew jewelery demand in the two countries 23 percent in the first quarter, while the central bank purchases fell.

It is well known that the precious metal prices continued to rise strongly during the 12-year-old sustained fell violently in the middle of last month when it fell by about $ 200 in two days to their lowest levels in two years.
Investors are directed towards the exit from their positions in gold to high-risk assets, especially equities, especially with the U.S. market to continue to achieve record highs.

Demand for jewelry

The report showed a rise in global demand for jewelry 12 percent to 551 tonnes, in conjunction with a jump in purchases by 19 percent to 184.8 tons in China, and by 15 percent in India to 159.5 tons, while consumption rose jewelry in the United States 6.2 percent to be the first quarterly increase since 2005.

The total consumer demand in China 20 percent to 294.3 tons, surpassing the consumption of India, which rose 27 percent to 256.5 tons.

The central banks added 109.2 metric tons in the three months to March, to be the ninth consecutive quarter of net buying those banks.

Gold fell for the Alsace consecutive day to be the longest string since December 2011, in conjunction with the reduction of Soros possession of precious metal products in index funds, and continued pressure on the euro by the dollar.

The precious metal contracts fell for June delivery in electronic trading on the New York Stock Exchange of $ 19.5 to $ 1376.7 after earlier fell more than 1.5 percent to $ 1373.7, which is the lowest in a month.

It is well known that the gold futures fell by about 18 percent this year, while reducing many investors possession of him, while the dollar rose more than 5 percent in the basket Amlath six which includes the yen and euro, while jumping the index «S & P» to the level of a new record the day before yesterday.

It is noteworthy that silver futures fell about 2 percent to 22.18 dollars, while platinum fell more than 1 percent to below the level of 1475 dollars.

May 17, 2013