(AFP Photo)
Despite several reports that gold prices have recently witnessed a minimal improvement, Wasfy Amin, head of gold division Federation of Egypt Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), said prices remain low.
He added that the price of gold is approximately $1,193 per ounce.
Amin said prices inched up after Switzerland’s announcement to convert some of its international foreign reserves to gold. After voter disapproval in the referendum, the prices of gold plummeted once again, Amin noted.
He added that the latest crisis in petroleum prices has not affected gold prices because “they were already low”.
“Gold prices didn’t witness a notable drop such as the one experienced in the oil prices,” Amin said.
At its lowest levels last week, the price of an oil barrel reached $59.3, the lowest since 2009.
He said the economic struggles faced by several countries at the same time have influenced the gold market. Amin said gold prices will not drop past a certain point, as the price of sale cannot be lower than the cost of excavation.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade announced that approximately EGP 24.7m in revenues were generated in the authority for jewellery stamping and scales. The stated profits so far this year were collected during the 10-month period between January until the end of October.
The statement added that the department witnessed a 120% growth rate, compared to the same period in the previous three years, during which the average revenue amounted to approximately EGP 11.6m.
The Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Khaled Hanafy announced that the issuance of a presidential decree to transfer the jewellery stamping and scales authority to a public economic entity is currently in the works.