Gold prices leave Baghdad buyers uncertain
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Each time the price of gold slips, Umm Adam decides to buy. Then she hesitates, afraid it will fall further, and she will regret paying too soon. A recent dip had felt like her chance, but prices have climbed again, and she is no closer to a decision.
Across Baghdad's gold market, buyers and sellers are caught in the same hesitation after a recent drop gave way to a renewed climb, leaving people unsure whether to buy now or wait, particularly those seeking jewelry for family occasions or buying to save.
Umm Adam, who had planned to buy jewelry for a family occasion, said she tracked prices for days waiting for a suitable level, but the renewed rise left her more hesitant. “I want to buy for the occasion rather than to profit, and shop owners gave me conflicting advice on whether to buy now or hold off,” she told Shafaq News.
For others, the same uncertainty argues for doing nothing. Umm Anas, who bought gold earlier as a form of saving, said she had not sold despite watching prices rise. “The increases reinforced my decision to hold, because I was saving for the long term.”
The swing that unsettled them was real. Gold rose in Baghdad on Tuesday, with 21-carat foreign gold reaching 948,000 Iraqi dinars ($724.16) per mithqal (5 grams) on Al-Nahr Street, up 8,000 dinars from Monday, according to a Shafaq News market survey. At jewelry shops, retail prices for 21-carat Gulf gold ran between 950,000 and 960,000 dinars. In Erbil, prices held steady, with 22-carat gold selling at 978,000 dinars per mithqal.
Zaid al-Ta'i, a gold shop owner, said the recent decline encouraged some residents to buy, while the renewed rise pushed others to wait and watch. He said customers had grown more cautious given how quickly prices change, describing gold as both an ornament and a store of value. “Buyers saving for the long term calculate differently from those tracking prices for a quick profit.”
Economic expert Muhammad al-Hasani explained that gold's volatile prices come amid continued uncertainty from economic and geopolitical developments in global markets. But gold “remains a leading haven during crises,” due to global demand, particularly from China and India.
Mudhhir Muhammad Salih, financial adviser to the prime minister, pointed out that gold prices are influenced mainly by movements in the US dollar and interest-rate levels, noting that prices in the Iraqi market are tied to global prices and the dollar exchange rate, given Iraq's reliance on imported gold.
