DOHA: Gold prices breached all previous records and surged to an all-time high of QR126 per gram (24-carat) in the local market yesterday.
Twenty-two-carat gold, which is used in jewellery-making, was selling at QR119 per gram, with making charges working out to a minimum of QR10 per gram.
But the soaring rates did little to dampen the festive spirit of Indians, especially, who consider it auspicious to buy silver and gold on the occasion of Diwali (the festival of lights).
“The demand (for gold jewellery) was quite good,” said an official from Damas, the well-known jewellery chain.
The rate for 22-carat gold was slightly higher at QR120 per gram in the morning but it eased later in the day, the official said.
He added that he did not expect gold prices to soar further as the main Diwali festival is tomorrow. The festival marks the beginning of a new Hindu calendar year.
“The international markets will be closed tomorrow and the day after, so the rates are expected to remain more or less at this level, if not recede,” the Damas official argued. The markets will reopen only on Monday after the festival is over.
The demand for 24-carat gold coins and bars remained high throughout the day yesterday.
Al Fardan Exchange, which also deals in gold bars and coins, said it did brisk business until closing hours yesterday. “Even now I have some 20 buyers lined up in front of me,” said an official from the exchange house’s gold division.
A large number of customers turned up to buy bars and coins even though the standard 24-carat 116-gram bar was priced at an incredible QR14,750 — up QR1,000 barely in a matter of days.
“We had a lot of customers due to the Indian festival,” the exchange official confirmed. High gold prices do not seem to have deterred buyers.
Surprisingly, though, it was mostly men who preferred to buy gold and gold jewellery. Women did not sound so much enthusiastic.
Said an Indian housewife, Sunita Saini, from an upper middle-class family: “I will not be buying gold because it is very expensive. I will instead buy silver.”
In fact, it was customary to buy silver, and not gold, on the occasion of Diwali, she insisted.
