UAE: Gold price hits $2,000, 24K surges to Dh241 per gram in Dubai

Gold prices on Monday scaled the $2,000-level for the first time in a year-and-a-half, as investors rushed to the safety of the metal in the wake of an escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis, while supply disruption fears sent palladium to an all-time high.

Spot gold was up 0.38 per cent at $1,979.82 per ounce, as of 10.30 am UAE time, after scaling to its highest since August 19, 2021, at $2,000.69 earlier in the day.

In the UAE, gold prices jumped more than Dh2 per gram at the opening of the market. The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group data showed 24K trading at Dh241.25 per gram as compared to Dh239 from its previous close. Among the other variants of the precious metal, 22K opened higher at Dh226.5 per gram, 21K at Dh216.25 and 18K at Dh185.25.

“If this was risk aversion driven by the US Federal Reserve as seen ahead of this war, that wasn't something that lifted gold as that risk aversion was about rising rates, which is not an environment in which gold does well,” said Ilya Spivak, a currency strategist at DailyFX.

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"This risk aversion, however, is geopolitical, and so there seems to be a reflective demand for non-paper assets," he told Reuters.

Spot gold may keep rising towards $2,065 per ounce, driven by a powerful wave C, according to Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai