TEHRAN, Iran, April 27
Trend:
Iran's gold market is facing low demand due to the rise of the gold price, said member of Iran's Gold, Jewelry, Silver and Precious Stones Producers and Exporters Association Abdollah Mohammadvali told Trend.
"At the moment, the global gold price per ounce is $1,730. In Iran, 18k gold price stands at 6.4 million rials [about $152] per gram, while the new gold coin of the weight of 8.1 gram costs 60.2 million [about $1,400], and it seems there is no bubble in the gold market," Mohammadvali said.
"The gold business reached a good place in the country over the past years, but has lost its positions. This is conditioned by increase of gold and gold coin prices," the member of the association said.
"The rise of the gold price in the market has reduced the purchases and demands, as people are no longer considering gold as a good investment; rather, it became an expensive luxury good. Currently, the gold is purchased mainly for weddings," Mohammadvali added.
"Meanwhile, development of the gold and jewelry industries can create many jobs for thousands people and even bring foreign currency revenues to the country, if the production sector is revived," he said. "The challenges can be addressed, if the government supports the industry."
"The gold market used to flourish in the 70s and 80s, but in the late 90s, it started to perceived as an unnecessary sector," he said.
"Therefore, the low-interest rate loans and other benefits were not provided to the gold industry, and this caused employment and export problems," he added.