Saturday, Jan 18, 2014
Dubai: Dubai jewellers struck gold during the first week of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) with gold sales at their strongest in seven years and the market is not displaying signs of slowdown.
“There has been an increase in gold sales by about 35 per cent compared to last year’s sales over the same [11-day] period. This is the strongest gold sales for the last seven years,” Tomy Joseph, general manager of Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group (DGJG), told Gulf News without giving exact figures.
An average of 250 kilograms of gold are sold daily in participating outlets in Dubai this year, compared to 150 to 175 kilograms daily gold sales last year, Joseph said.
He added that not all participating outlets have reported their sales for the first week but they based the figure on the number of daily coupons collected for the Gold Raffle this DSF.
“The positive feeling among residents and tourists about Dubai is what encourages them to do good purchases this year. Many still prefer to buy gold in Dubai because the resale value is good; they view it as an investment. Moreover, all kinds of designs are showcased here,” Joseph said.
Sunny Chittilappilly, DGJG chairman, said except for last weekend’s wet weather, everything was favourable to gold sales this DSF.
The Expo 2020-Host City commemorative coin and lightweight gold ornaments are popular among shoppers this year. In just 10 days, the group has sold approximately 6,000 coins.
Thursdays, Fridays and sometimes Saturdays still rake in the largest number of shoppers who are mostly from the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and from the West.
By Janice Ponce ?de Leon Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2014. All rights reserved.
