Gold prices dropped over Dh1 per gram at the opening of the markets in the UAE on Wednesday morning.

At 9am UAE time, the 24K variant of the yellow metal was trading at Dh292.25 per gram, down from Dh294.0 per gram at the close of the markets on Tuesday. Among the other variants, 22K opened lower at Dh270.5, 21K at Dh261.75 and 18K at Dh224.5 per gram.

Spot gold was trading at $2,413.3, down 0.34 per cent at 9.15 am UAE time ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve’s minutes of the policy meeting.

The precious metal prices reached nearly a new high recently, driven by central banks’ buying, geopolitical uncertainty and increased purchases by China.

Shadi Salloum, regional director for Mena at XS.com, advised investors in the UAE to go slow with the market and don’t go with some very big positions because the nature of the gold is very sensitive so try to be cautious about trading.

Mohamed Hashad, chief market strategist, Noor Capital, said market participants are focusing on cues from the Federal Reserve.

“Recent soft US inflation readings for April have heightened hopes that the central bank might begin trimming rates as early as September. The anticipated rate cuts are expected to further support metal prices, particularly gold, as lower interest rates typically increase the appeal of non-yielding assets,” he said.

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