Gold prices in the UAE stabilised, losing only Dh1 per gram, after a brief period of recovery. The 24K gold price was trading at Dh547.25 per gram at market open on Thursday, down from Dh548.25 per gram at the market close on Wednesday.
Similarly, other variants also fell on Thursday, with 22K, 21K, 18K and 14K trading at Dh506.75, Dh486.00, Dh416.50, and Dh325.0 per gram, respectively. Globally, spot gold was trading at $4,562.7 per ounce at 9.30am UAE time. Silver was up 1.98 per cent at $72.16 per ounce.
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This comes as the US Federal Reserve decided to hold rates steady at Wednesday’s Fed meeting, as the central bank continues to monitor inflationary effects of the Iran conflict.
The UAE Central Bank also maintained its benchmark interest rate at 3.65 per cent, as the dirham is pegged to the US dollar.
Financial analysts say higher inflation reinforced expectations of delayed rate cuts (tighter policy), which is negative for gold.
“U.S. inflation rose to 3.3 per cent in March 2026 from 2.4 per cent in February, driven by a 12.5 cent increase in energy costs, with gasoline up 18.9 per cent and fuel oil rising 44.2 per cent,” Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer of Century Financial, said.
“For the April FOMC meeting, markets are pricing in a 99 per cent probability of a rate-hold. For the remaining Fed meetings in 2026, markets are reluctant to price in even a single 25-bps rate cut. This assumes that Kevin Warsh will likely take over as the new Fed chair in May,” he added.
The current Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, will step down as chair, but said that he will continue to sit on the Fed’s board, while Warsh will be the most likely successor as chair.
The investment officer noted that Gold Exchange Traded Flows (ETF) flows turned sharply negative in March, with North America witnessing $13 billion in outflows, the largest monthly outflow on record.
“Although ETF flows recovered in April, they aren’t significant in dollar terms or tonnes to offset the March outflows, limiting any upside. The total global inflows for April, through the week ending 17th April, total $8.5 billion. Central bank gold demand remains supportive but is well below the monthly average of 26 tons in 2025,” Valecha said.
Source: Khaleej Times