Dubai gold flows curbed as flights halted due to US-Israeli strikes on Iran

Physical gold flows to and from Dubai’s bullion trading hub will be severely curbed in coming days as airlines cancel flights due to US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation, three metals industry sources said.

Dubai’s trading hub is a major gold supplier to Switzerland, Hong Kong and India, a major consumer. Gold travels by plane due to security and insurance issues stemming from its value-to-weight ratio.

“It looks like most if not all airlines have cancelled their flights, so not going to be any gold moving for a couple of days,” one of the sources said.

The impact on the global supply will depend on the length of disruption, the sources said. They declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the press.

Spot gold prices closed on Friday up 1.7% at $5,277 per troy ounce, their highest since January 30, with many analysts expecting safe-haven inflows into bullion once the market opens on Monday. Gold’s record high was $5,594.82 on January 29.

The market on Monday is likely to be dominated by financial flows on markets in Shanghai, London and New York, another source said.

“The major locations – China, India, New York, London and Zurich – are still okay,” a precious metals trader said.

(By Polina Devitt; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)