The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
Gold jewellery sale in the UAE plummeted, but bars and coins witnessed higher demand, in the third quarter of this year, according to the World Gold Council.
Data showed that jewellery sales slumped 30 per cent year-on-year to 3.8 tonnes as compared to 5.4 tonnes in the same quarter last year as coronavirus continued to weigh on consumer sentiment.
Due to job losses and reduction in salaries following the outbreak of the pandemic in March in the UAE, gold jewellery sale has been lackluster as restrictions were placed on tourists, which are major buyers of the gold jewellery in the City of Gold.
However, jewellery sales improved quarter-on-quarter in the UAE, rising from 1.3 tonnes in Q2 to 3.8 tonnes in Q3. Jewellers in Dubai expect the fourth quarter to be better as tourists return and there is a slight improvement in the overall economic recovery.
Demand for bars and coins in the UAE also rose by 40 per cent to 1.4 tonnes as against 1.0 tonnes in third-quarter last year, while quarter-on-quarter sales of bars and coins also spiked by 75 per cent from 0.8 tonnes to 1.4 tonnes.
In total, consumers bought 5.2 tonnes of gold in the last quarter as against 6.4 tonnes for the same quarter last year, down by 19 per cent, but quarter-on-quarter sales jumped 148 per cent.
The World Gold Council said global demand for gold dropped to 892.3 tonnes in Q3 – its lowest quarterly total since Q3 2009 – as consumers and investors continued to battle the effects of the global pandemic. At 2,972.1 tonnes year-to-date, demand is 10 per cent below the same period of 2019.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com
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