UAE gold jewellery demand in 2023 down by 15%, Saudi Arabia’s jewellery consumption up by 1%: WGC

The report said that the drop in the UAE was mainly due to the high base of 2022, which had been boosted by the post-COVID return of tourism

UAE: The retail market for gold jewellery in the UAE had a lacklustre performance in 2023 compared to the previous year, with annual jewellery consumption falling by 15%, according to the latest data from the World Gold Council.

Total consumption between January and December 2023 reached 39.7 tonnes, down from the 46.9 tonnes recorded in 2022, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report.

The decline, which was one of the biggest in the Middle East region, was mainly due to the spurt in post-COVID demand during 2022 when a huge influx of tourists drove annual consumption to its highest level in six years.

“The drop in the UAE was mainly due to the high base of 2022, which had been boosted by the post-COVID return of tourism,” the report said.

Like the UAE, Egypt also posted huge losses, with jewellery consumption dropping by 17%, the highest in the region.

The decline in Egyptian demand was due to continued domestic economic challenges, notably the depreciation of the local currency, which affected domestic consumers. Geopolitical tensions and falling tourism also had a detrimental impact, the report said.

In Kuwait, consumption also slipped by 3% to 14.3 tonnes.

However, Saudi Arabia outperformed its peers in the region, with jewellery consumption rising marginally by 1% to 38 tonnes.

The council also revealed that Iraq, Libya, and Qatar were among the top 10 largest Arab countries to buy gold in 2023. Due to its status as a safe haven in times of geopolitical and economic instability, many countries are keeping up their gold reserves.

The amount of gold purchased by central banks fell to 1,037.4 tons in 2023 from 1,081.9 tons in 2022, although it is still the second-highest amount in almost 55 years.

With a total of 224.88 tons, the People’s Bank of China led the group of central banks that bought the most gold in 2023. Poland came in second with 130.3 tons, Singapore came in third with 76.51 tons, Libya came in fourth with 30.1 tons, the Czech Republic came in fifth with 18.71 tons, and India came in sixth with 16.22 tons.

With 12.25 tons of gold purchased by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) in 2023, Iraq ranked seventh, followed by Qatar in eighth place with 7.44 tons, the Philippines in ninth place with 7.10 tons, and Kyrgyzstan in tenth place with 6.95 tons.

“Nevertheless, demand remained relatively subdued as pent-up post-COVID demand was exhausted and the high gold price environment posed a challenge,” WGC said.

Across the Middle East region, jewellery consumption totalled 171 tons, registering a 9% decline from a year earlier.

Elsewhere, other markets continued to show resilience despite rising prices. Turkey’s jewellery demand continued to extend its upward trend from the lows seen in 2020, with annual demand reaching 42 tonnes in 2023, the highest in eight years and up by 14% from the previous year.

In China, gold jewellery consumption reached 630 tonnes, up by 10% from 2022.

Courtesy: iraqinews.com and zawya.com