Dubai: Gold Prices Rising 'By The Hour', Hit Record High

Gold prices have been increasing 'by the hour' in Dubai, hitting a fresh record high of Dh420 per gram on Tuesday due to a relentless rally in global prices, driven by tariffs war, geopolitical tensions and central banks buying.

With global prices hitting $3,500 per ounce due to its safe-haven status, the gold rally has left other metals looking ordinary.

In Dubai, the 24K variant of the precious metal rose from Dh407.0 per gram on Monday morning to Dh409.25 per gram in the afternoon. It then rose further to Dh412.0 per gram in the evening, scaling new peaks.

This upward trend in prices continued on Tuesday as 24K reaching Dh420.0 per gram before settling at Dh412.5 per gram on Tuesday evening. Gold gained nearly Dh20 per gram in 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday morning.

Similarly, 22K prices shot from Dh376.75 per gram on Monday morning to Dh379.0 in the afternoon and Dh381.5 in the evening. It jumped over Dh7 per gram to Dh388.75 on Tuesday morning – gaining Dh12 per gram in 24 hours. It was trading at Dh382.25 per gram on Tuesday evening after profit-taking set in.

“Gold's blistering rally has proven unstoppable so far this year."

“The precious metal was trading at around $2,624.50 at the start of the year. Since then, it skyrocketed to a peak of $3,500.10 as of April 22, registering a year-to-date gain of 33.36 per cent,” said Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial.

He said this unprecedented surge is primarily being fuelled by US president Donald Trump's tariff policies and outright criticism of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank, said the gold rally was driven by US economic stability concerns as Trump continues to challenge the independence of the Federal Reserve, calling for Chair Powell to be sacked and rates to be cut.

Hansen added that thin market conditions during the Easter break made matters worse, with the US dollar and US stocks tumbling.

“With traders losing confidence in the US and Asian buyers scrambling to accumulate gold, the yellow metal will likely remain bid until more clarity on multiple issues - from tariffs and stagflation risks to the Fed - are resolved.”

Analysts say that the gains witnessed over the last couple of days have been mainly driven by investors and institutions who jumped the bandwagon due to fearing on fear of missing out (FOMO) from the rally.

“Gold's phenomenal safe-haven, FOMO, momentum-driven rally has left other metals looking ordinary, not least silver, as it now trades at the cheapest level to bullion since early 2020,” he said.

Many research and financial institutes recently raised their forecasts for gold to $3,500 per ounce for the whole year, but surprisingly it reached this milestone within weeks.

Vijay Valecha of Century Financial said the forecasts for gold prices are being revised upwards periodically, given the relentless rally in the precious metal.

“The consensus estimates suggest prices could rally to $3,700 an ounce by the year-end and potentially $4,000 by mid-2026. Gold's rally does not appear overblown just yet. While inflows into gold-backed ETFs (exchange-traded funds) have been on the rise, they are still well below the 2020 peak,” he said.

According to the World Gold Council, gold-backed ETFs recorded an inflow of 226.5 metric tons over the first quarter, valued at $21.1 billion - the highest level since Q1 2022. By March-end, inflows had risen to 3,445.3 tons, marking the highest level since May 2023 but still below October 2020's peak of 3,915 tons.

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