Business

Gold prices in the UAE eased slightly on Monday, retreating from last week’s record levels.

At 9 am, 24K gold dropped Dh1.25 to Dh431.50 per gram, while 22K slipped below the key Dh400 mark to Dh399.75 per gram, down Dh0.50. Other variants also opened lower, with 21K at Dh383.25 and 18K at Dh328.25 per gram.

On the global stage, spot gold traded at $3,583.74 per ounce at 9 am UAE time, little changed from Friday’s close. The metal touched an all-time high of $3,600 last week, buoyed by expectations of US Federal Reserve rate cuts in September and ongoing dollar weakness.

Market sentiment was reinforced by disappointing US jobs data. Only 22,000 new non-farm jobs were added in August, well below forecasts, while earlier revisions showed job losses in June. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.3 per cent, with manufacturing shedding another 12,000 jobs.

“The US labour market is expected to weaken further amid mass deportations, restrained immigration, and tariff-related uncertainty,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. “Even as production eventually shifts back to the US, many factory jobs will likely be replaced by automation.”

Analysts believe the combination of soft labour data and policy uncertainty is likely to keep demand for gold resilient, even with prices cooling slightly from historic highs.

• Tags
• #Business
• #Magazine
• #Lifestyle