Dubai, Abu Dhabi gold retail sales take a hit in Aug

Gold jewellery sales in Dubai fell around 30 percent in August, compared with a year earlier, as high gold prices and an economic downturn deterred buyers, retailers said on Thursday.

Dubai's gold retailers are seeing sale volumes drop as prices of the metal are boosted by institutional funds seeking a safe haven for their assets during the global economic slowdown.

"Our sales in August have dropped by around 30 percent from last year because the price of gold is too high for (retail) consumers during this crisis," said Sanjay Brahatti, co-owner of Al Khaledyah Jewellery, which is based in Dubai's old gold souk and has five branches.

"And if things continue like this over the coming two months, we are thinking about cutting down the number of branches to ease costs," he said.
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