Abu Dhabi retail gold sales down 25%
Today: UAE. Retail gold sales dropped by about 25% in March in Abu Dhabi compared with the same period last year, an industry executive said this week.
Tushar Patni, managing director of Ajanta Jewellery added that if the price of the precious metal stays over AED100 (US$27.4) per gram then it could force closure of some retail outlets.
“Currently the price of gold is at AED110 and I expect that it will stay at this level which spells bad news for many of the smaller retailers here who will be forced out of the market,” Patni, who manages the largest retailer of 22 carat gold in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, told Reuters. Read more
Oil-rich Abu Dhabi takes lead from high-flying Dubai
Abu Dhabi, which controls more than 90 percent of the vast oil wealth of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), appears to have set its sights on following the example of booming Dubai.
Officials from the largest emirate in the UAE federation used the podium of a two-day economic forum this week to emphasise the emirate’s drive to diversify and restructure the revenue base of its economy.
“Abu Dhabi stands today at the threshold of a crucial period of economic transition,” Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, a son of the founder of the Gulf state, told delegates at the Abu Dhabi Economic Forum.
“Our political leadership is determined to benefit from the current achievements through building on them to reach a dynamic and diversified economy,” he said. Read more
