IslamicFinance.de

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) plans to introduce a physically-backed Shariah-compliant spot gold contract. Trading is expected to begin March 29. This comes at a time when the global demand for gold dropped 7% to 4,071.7 tonnes in 2017. Among key Muslim-majority economies in 2017, Turkey saw the biggest demand for investment bars and coins, at 52.4 tonnes, representing 5% of global demand. Indonesia follows with 20.2 tonnes, equivalent to around 2% of global demand for investment bars and coins. Saudi Arabia leads Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with 9.9 tonnes, representing around 0.96% of global demand. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw a demand of 5.5 tonnes, equal to around 0.53% of global demand. Globally, Greater China and India were the biggest markets for investment bars and coins, at 313.8 tonnes and 164.2 tonnes, respectively.