Saudi Arabia sees 60% increase in gold sales on Eid night

old shops saw an increase in gold sales on the night of Eid as the price of grams for (18,21,22,24) carats went down. The gram of 24 carat gold reached SR138.52 while that of 22 carat gold dropped to SR126.98. The gram of 21 carat and 18 carat decreased to SR121.21 and SR103.89 respectively, according to gold experts in the Saudi market.

Numerous gold investors agreed that Saudi women constituted the larger section of customers who played a role in increasing gold sales by 60 percent. The female customers bought gold bullions and sets, made especially for new brides who are going to get married soon.

However, many women were interested in buying gold for saving purposes for the long term. They want to save it and sell it later when the price goes up, the investors noted.

Ibrahim Al-Yafee, one of the investors, said a kilo of gold reached SR138,528.93 while the price of a gold coin and an ounce of gold dropped to SR969.68 and 4,308.53 respectively. Al-Yafee called for educating citizens about the ways they should use to calculate the price of a gold ounce and how to keep up with the prices of gold around the world.

“Few years ago, the gold market was stagnant even in wedding and Eid events. As a result, many local investors lost money from dealing with international companies,” he noted.

Abu Abid, a salesman at a gold shop, said the large drop in the prices attracted Saudis to buy gold in large quantities. He said the gold sales in Ramadan this year recorded the highest sales in five years.