Dubai gold slips below Dh500, pulling festive jewellery purchases forward

Some Indian families in Dubai are moving their festive gold shopping ahead of schedule rather than waiting for the celebrations. With 24-carat gold back below Dh500 a gram, expatriates and non-resident Indians are bringing forward purchases for Navratri, Dhanteras and Diwali, jewellers told Khaleej Times. Others are fixing today’s prices for jewellery they will collect during the festivals.

Gold closed at Dh499 per gram for 24-carat metal over the weekend in Dubai and the wider UAE. Lower-carat varieties, which contain a smaller proportion of pure gold, also declined: 22-carat stood at Dh462, 21-carat at Dh443 and 18-carat at Dh379.75 per gram. The falls give shoppers planning family celebrations another reason to commit to a purchase, retailers said.

A price dip meets a buying tradition

The timing matters for jewellers serving the UAE’s South Asian community. Tawhid Abdulla, chairman of the Dubai Jewellery Group, described the stretch from Navratri through Dhanteras and Diwali as one of the industry’s most important annual selling periods. Gold buying is considered auspicious during these festivals, he said, and the lower prices have encouraged families to act earlier. Indian visitors and Indians living abroad generally respond to dips because they see an attractive buying opportunity.

Chirag Vora, managing director of Bafleh Jewellers, said the cultural importance of gold as a symbol of prosperity reinforces the effect of falling prices. Some shoppers are using price-lock facilities, arrangements that let them secure a current rate for delivery during peak festival days. He said Indian tourists and non-resident Indians tend to buy larger volumes when prices decline.

Price dips bring the strongest physical buying volumes and transaction counts among tourists and non-resident Indians, according to Bafleh Jewellers managing director Chirag Vora.

Vora also pointed to Dubai’s pricing advantage for Indian buyers. He said gold in Dubai follows international spot prices—the market rate for immediate purchases—without the import tariffs and goods and services tax levied on gold in India. In his assessment, a price decline increases the savings available to cross-border shoppers. Rising prices can prompt buying in anticipation of further increases, but dips generate the stronger response in physical purchases, he said.

Price is only part of the decision

Anil Dhanak, managing director of Kanz Jewels, offered a more nuanced view. Lower prices create an immediate sense of better value, he said, while sharp rises can also push customers to buy before costs climb further. Gold carries emotional and long-term investment significance. Design, purity, craftsmanship, the occasion and individual needs remain important, so a price correction is an extra reason to buy rather than the sole driver.

John Paul Alukkas, CEO of Joyalukkas Jewellery, said festive shoppers often arrive already intending to purchase. A lower rate helps accelerate decisions, particularly for customers planning trips home, weddings or family celebrations. He also said purchases continue when prices rise because buying gold in the UAE is a recurring part of many non-resident Indians’ visits.

The next retail push is the Dubai Jewellery Group’s Diwali campaign, scheduled from October 24 to November 12 across participating jewellers, with offers and 1kg gold raffles. That promotion will accompany a season in which retailers say lower prices are bringing planned purchases forward, while cultural traditions and travel-linked buying continue to support demand.