The maturity of a number of high-yield bank savings certificates has injected fresh liquidity into Egypt’s gold market, supporting local demand alongside seasonal buying, according to a report by Gold Bullion, which also revealed that the country’s gold imports surged more than fifteen-fold during the first half of 2026.
Gold prices in the local market rose 3% over the past week, with the price of 21-karat gold gaining EGP 175 per gram. The metal opened the week at EGP 5,805 per gram and closed at EGP 5,980 after reaching a monthly high of EGP 6,010 per gram.
According to Gold Bullion’s technical analysis, gold successfully broke through the EGP 5,900 resistance level after establishing a price base above EGP 5,800 per gram. The rally, however, lost momentum near the psychological EGP 6,000 level.
The report noted that 21-karat gold has returned to positive territory for the year, gaining around EGP 150 per gram, or approximately 2.5%, after previously surrendering all of its gains amid sharp declines driven by geopolitical developments that pressured both global and domestic gold prices.
Despite the local recovery, global gold prices remain down 6.2% since the beginning of the year, a decline of about $274 per ounce. Gold Bullion attributed the stronger performance of Egypt’s gold market to the depreciation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions, which pushed local gold prices higher.
The US dollar rose around 1.6% against the Egyptian pound last week to close at EGP 51.40, bringing its gains since the beginning of July to approximately 4.3%, or more than EGP 2.
The report said the Egyptian pound has weakened since the start of July as the war involving Iran heightened investor concerns and triggered capital outflows from Egypt’s debt market. Around $1.92bn in foreign investments exited the market over a two-week period.
Gold Bullion also noted that the premium above the fair value of gold in the local market widened again after narrowing earlier, indicating an imbalance between supply and demand. The report attributed stronger demand to lower prices that attracted buyers, the summer holiday season, and increased purchases by Egyptians returning from abroad.
It added that the maturity of several high-yield bank savings certificates encouraged some of the liquidity held in the banking sector to shift into gold as a savings vehicle, further supporting domestic demand.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s gold imports jumped to $4.05bn during the first half of 2026, compared with $249.6m during the same period of 2025, marking an increase of more than fifteenfold. Gold became Egypt’s largest non-petroleum import, accounting for 8.4% of total non-oil imports.
According to the report, the surge reflects stronger domestic demand for gold, whether for consumption or reprocessing, while local pricing continues to be driven primarily by movements in international gold prices and the exchange rate.
On the global front, gold prices posted their first weekly gain after two consecutive weeks of declines. Spot gold rose 0.9% during the week, climbing from $3,995 per ounce at the beginning of trading to a weekly high of $4,166 before ending the week at $4,052 per ounce.
Gold briefly broke above the key resistance zone between $4,080 and $4,100 per ounce but failed to sustain those gains due to weakening upward momentum, retreating to trade above the $4,000 level by the end of the week.
Gold Bullion identified the week’s key market driver as an 11% surge in crude oil prices, which climbed above $100 per barrel for the first time in more than two months amid continued military escalation between the United States and Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global energy supplies pass.
The sharp rise in oil prices has revived fears of another inflation shock, raising expectations that interest rates could remain elevated for longer. Markets are currently pricing in two US Federal Reserve rate hikes during 2026, with an implied probability of more than 80% that rates will be increased at the September meeting, while expecting the Fed to leave rates unchanged at next week’s meeting.
As a result, the US dollar climbed to its highest level in three weeks, gaining 0.7% over the week, while US Treasury yields rose to their highest levels in more than 18 months.
Although these developments typically weigh on non-yielding assets such as gold, the report said safe-haven demand generated by rising geopolitical risks and concerns over a prolonged conflict continued to support the precious metal despite the stronger dollar and higher bond yields.
