Gold Outlook: Are Prices Set to Rise or Drop? - Bloomberg
What determines the price of gold? For much of the past decade the answer was easy: the price of money. The lower rates fell, the higher gold climbed, and vice versa.
Gold is the quintessential “anti-dollar” — a place to turn for those who distrust fiat currency — so it seemed natural that prices would rise in a world of low real interest rates and cheap dollars. Or when rates went up, gold, which pays no yield, naturally became less attractive, sending prices tumbling.
Well, not anymore.
As inflation-adjusted rates soared this year to the highest since the financial crisis, bullion has barely blinked. Real yields — measured by the 10-year Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, — jumped again on Thursday to the highest since 2009, while spot gold nudged down a mere 0.5% the same day. The last time real rates were this high, gold was about half the price.
Gulf stocks mixed amid rate hike woes; Egypt outperforms | Reuters
Most stock markets in the Middle East put in a mixed performance on Sunday following the Federal Reserve's signal of one more rate hike this year, while Egypt's main equity index hit a record high on strong gains in fertilizer and chemical shares.
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council's monetary policy is usually guided by Fed policy as five of them have their currencies pegged to the dollar, while Kuwait's dinar is linked to a basket of currencies believed to be dominated by the greenback.
The Qatari benchmark stock index (.QSI) fell 0.3%, dragged down by almost all the sectors with financials leading the declines.
Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), the Gulf's biggest lender, was down 0.7% while heavyweight Commercial Bank (COMB.QA) dropped 1.3%.
Kuwait's premier market index (.BKP) fell 1.6%, its 7th consecutive session of losses, as most of its constituents were in negative territory.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), closed up 0.6%, hitting an all-time high. It was boosted by a more than 7% jump to a five-month peak in Abu Qir fertilizers and Chemical Industries Co (ABUK.CA), and a 4.7% rise in Misr Fertilizer Production (MFPC.CA).
Stock markets in Saudi Arabia are closed for the kingdom’s national day holiday while the UAE bourse is closed over the weekend as last year it shifted to a new Monday to Friday working week to better align with global markets.
Supermarket franchisee Spinneys Dubai plans IPO in 2024
Spinneys Dubai LLC, the franchisee of the supermarket chain in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, is planning an initial public offering of the business in the second quarter of 2024, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Albwardy Investment, the franchise's 100% owner, hired Rothschild & Co to advise on the planned IPO, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the plans are not public.
It invited banks this week to pitch for roles in the offering, expected to be up to 30% of the company, the sources added.
Spinneys, Albwardy and Rothschild did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The potential IPO of Spinneys Dubai, planned on the Dubai Financial Market, would add to the small but growing regional food retail sector.
Americana Restaurants, the Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut, as well as a seller of frozen foods, debuted in a dual listing in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh in December.
Lulu Group, a hypermarket and mall operator, expects its IPO in the first half of 2024, its chairman said earlier this month, adding that it hired Moelis & Co to advise it, confirming an October 2022 Reuters report.
Lucid Motors Manufacturing Unit in KAEC wins operating licence
Saudi Arabia’s Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority (ECZA) has given Lucid an operating licence for its manufacturing unit established at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). The permit was handed over at a ceremony organised at the ECZA office in KAEC.
The commencement of operations at the production unit of Lucid, a pioneering US-based e-vehicle company that utilises innovative and sustainable technologies to design and produce luxury cars, in Saudi Arabia marks a major milestone in the nation's efforts to transform itself into a global e-vehicle manufacturer, a Saudi Press Agency report said.
The state-of-the-art facility spans an area of over 1.35 million sq m, occupying about 31% of the total area of the KAEC SEZ’s auto hub, a designated area allocated for the automotive industry.
