UAE gold jewellery demand falls 29% in third quarter as high prices bite, even as global demand holds firm
Gold jewellery demand in the UAE fell 29 per cent year on year to 4.5 tonnes in the third quarter of 2026, one of the steepest declines of any major market, according to the World Gold Council, while total global demand slipped just 1 per cent to 1,369 tonnes.
Gold jewellery demand in the UAE fell 29 per cent year on year to 4.5 tonnes in the third quarter of 2026, one of the steepest declines of any major market, according to the World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends: Q3 2026 report.
Figures checked on Tuesday morning, 3 November 2026 (Pakistan time). On Tuesday morning, gold was trading at $3,909 an ounce, down 1.2 per cent, while in Dubai, 24-karat gold was trading at Dh473 a gram and 22-karat gold at Dh438 a gram.
The report said high gold prices, pressure on household purchasing power and geopolitical uncertainty, which has also weighed on tourist numbers, held back discretionary purchases across the Middle East, and UAE jewellery demand was also 19 per cent lower than in the previous quarter.
UAE bar and coin demand fell too, down 15 per cent year on year and 46 per cent quarter on quarter to 2.9 tonnes, as investors held back in anticipation of further price weakness, the report said.
Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia's jewellery demand fell 12 per cent to 8.2 tonnes and Kuwait's dropped 29 per cent to 1.7 tonnes, while Middle East retail bar and coin investment fell 24 per cent to 22 tonnes, showing that the UAE's experience was part of a wider regional pullback rather than an isolated one.
In India, the world's biggest jewellery market, demand fell 20 per cent to 99.9 tonnes, the weakest third quarter since 2020, and Indian bar and coin demand fell 40 per cent to 55 tonnes, accounting for 60 per cent of the global year-on-year decline in that category.
Despite the weakness in jewellery, total global demand, including over-the-counter trade, slipped just 1 per cent year on year to 1,369 tonnes, because other parts of the market held up much better.
Global jewellery demand itself fell 17 per cent to 313 tonnes, the weakest third quarter in the World Gold Council's data going back to 2000 and the 13th consecutive quarterly decline, as tax changes in India and China, along with higher prices, pushed consumers towards lighter and lower-carat pieces.
Central bank buying was the counterweight: it jumped 42 per cent year on year to 321 tonnes, well above the five-year quarterly average of 227 tonnes, with the People's Bank of China the largest reported buyer at 63 tonnes, followed by Poland at 40 tonnes, while Russia was the only major seller, offloading 19 tonnes.
Mine production rose 3 per cent to a third-quarter record of 1,071 tonnes, but recycling fell 8 per cent to 314 tonnes, leaving total supply 1 per cent lower, and looking ahead, the World Gold Council expects investment to remain the main driver of demand growth in 2026, finishing around 200 tonnes above 2025.
For UAE shoppers, the picture is therefore a split one: the metal itself remains in demand from central banks and investors, but at shop level, high prices mean buyers are spending similar amounts for less gold, and that squeeze is what shows up in the 4.5-tonne jewellery figure.
This post is market news information only, not financial advice.
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