Gold prices open higher in UAE; 24K trades at Dh235 per gram

Gold prices were stable on Thursday morning as the dollar gained and yields hovered near multi-year peaks, offsetting support from an escalation in the Ukraine crisis.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,940.53 per ounce at 9.10am UAE time.

In the UAE, the 24K gold prices opened at Dh235.0 per gram at the opening of the market on Thursday, up by half a dirham per gram from Wednesday’s close. Among the other variants of the precious metal, 22K opened at Dh220.75 per gram, 21K at Dh210.75 and 18K at Dh180.75.

The dollar index gained on Wednesday, making gold less attractive for other currency holders, as oil prices shot higher again with US President Joe Biden and other European leaders set to impose fresh sanctions against Russia.

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, said risks for the yellow metal are increasingly skewed to the downside, especially if the US dollar decides to rally in sympathy with higher US yields.

“Gold has well-denoted resistance between $1,940 and $1,950 now, followed by $1,960 an ounce. Support lies at $1,900, and failure will spark a retest of major support at $1,880 an ounce. Failure of $1,880 will likely spark a rapid capitulation trade targeting the low $1,800s,” said Halley.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai