Dubai’s gold market experienced a significant downturn on Friday morning as prices tumbled below the critical Dh600 per gram threshold, marking one of the most substantial single-day declines in recent trading history. The precious metal’s value dropped to Dh599.75 per gram at market opening, representing a dramatic Dh11 decrease from Thursday’s opening price of Dh610.75 per gram.
The selloff extended across all gold variants, with 22K trading at Dh555.25, 21K at Dh532.5, 18K at Dh456.5, and 14K at Dh356.0 per gram respectively. Globally, spot gold prices reached $4,977.92 per ounce after briefly touching a near one-week low, showing some recovery with a 1% uptick by 9:15 AM UAE time.
This market movement follows Thursday’s approximately 3% decline that pushed gold below the psychologically important $5,000-per-ounce support level. The downturn coincided with intensified selling pressure across equity markets, creating a perfect storm for precious metal investors.
Market analysts attribute the volatility to shifting expectations regarding U.S. monetary policy. Recent robust employment data, which showed 130,000 job additions in January versus forecasts of 70,000, has significantly altered the Federal Reserve’s potential interest rate trajectory. The stronger-than-expected jobs report has caused traders to recalibrate their expectations, pushing anticipated rate cuts from June to July.
Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer at Century Financial, noted that while the data might cause short-term pullbacks, revised annual job growth figures from 584,000 to 181,000 for 2025 provide underlying support for precious metals. ‘This will provide a floor for both metals,’ Valecha stated, suggesting that the fundamental support for gold remains intact despite current market pressures.
Investors worldwide are now closely monitoring upcoming U.S. inflation figures for further guidance on interest rate direction, which will likely determine gold’s medium-term trajectory in both international markets and Dubai’s local trading scene.