Kuwaitis and residents over the past six months have reportedly bought 9 tons of gold coins and gold works, which is the same value as purchases during the first half of 2021, but it is crystal the customers prefer to buy in bullion and coins as a safe investment instead of going for works that are treated as decoration.
The World Gold Council, according to a local Arabic daily, said Kuwait’s purchases during the first half of 2022 were 23.3%, or 2.1 tons of bullion and gold coins, while the works accounted for 76.7% of the total gold purchases by 6.9 tons.
In view of the global geopolitical factors in addition to the economic variables, on top of which comes the high inflation rates and the subsequent successive increases in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve, which increased the attractiveness of the dollar and the tendency towards saving. However, the gold market in Kuwait translated this into increases in the acquisition of bullion and gold coins, which reached its peak during the period from April to the end of June 2022, when it witnessed an increase of about 37.5%, and while the figures show that the first half of this year witnessed a decline in the acquisition of gold jewellery, the same variables played a role, after its purchases witnessed a decline in the first quarter of year, it rose again in the second quarter.
The demand for gold bullion and coins in Kuwait during the first 6 months of this year increased by about 11%, with a volume of 200 kilograms, with total purchases of Kuwait amounting to 2.1 tons, compared to 1.9 tons during the same period (the first 6 months) of 2021.
In comparison on a quarterly basis, the period from April to the end of June 2022 witnessed an increase in bullion and coin purchases by 100 kilos, recording 1.1 tons compared to 1 tons during the period from January to the end of March of the same year.
This comes while the first quarter of this year recorded a decline in bullion purchases by 9%, equivalent to 100 kilos, as it decreased to 1 ton compared to 1.1 tons during the same period of 2021, while the second quarter of 2022 witnessed an increase of 37.5% in purchases by citizens and residents. of bullion and gold coins, as it increased by 300 kilos to 1.1 tons, compared to 800 kilograms in the second quarter of 2021.
Kuwait’s purchases of handicrafts decreased during the first half of this year by 3%, equivalent to about 200 kilograms, reaching 6.9 tons during the period from January to the end of June 2022, compared to 7.1 tons during the same period in 2021.
This is in line with the decline witnessed in the first quarter of 2022 in the volume of gold jewelry purchases, which decreased by 300 kilograms to 3.1 tons, compared to 3.4 tons during the same period of 2021. In the second quarter of 2022, the artefacts witnessed an increase of 100 kilograms, The value of Kuwait’s imports amounted to about 3.8 tons, compared to 3.7 tons for the same period in 2021.
According to the calculations made by the daily, Kuwait’s purchases of gold rose from 2010 until the end of June 2022 to reach 181.6 tons, including 33.6 tons of bullion and gold coins, and 148 tons of handicrafts.
According to the figures, the average amount of gold entering Kuwait per month since the beginning of 2022 has been about 1.5 tons, or about 50 kilograms per day, while the monthly average compared with the total volume of gold since 2010 is about 1.2 tons.
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