RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is poised to outperform other Middle Eastern gold markets in the coming months as resilient domestic demand and rising investor interest offset weaker jewelry consumption, according to the World Gold Council.
The Kingdom’s gold market is benefiting from a growing shift toward investment demand, making it less vulnerable than neighboring markets that rely more heavily on tourism, Andrew Naylor, head of Middle East and public policy at the World Gold Council, told Arab News.
His comments came as the World Gold Council released its Gold Demand Trends Q2 2026 report, showing global gold demand held steady at 1,269 tonnes in the second quarter, while first-half demand rose 2 percent year on year to 2,522 tonnes, worth $380 billion, despite prices retreating from record highs earlier this year.
“The outlook is stronger for Saudi than other markets in the Middle East,” Naylor said.
“The reason I say that is Saudi, in particular, has strong domestic consumption, whereas the UAE, for example, is more of a tourist-driven consumption market. Saudi is less dependent on tourist flows, and the outlook is very much centered on investment demand,” he added.
