It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, March 06, 2026
AU
Gold stuck in Dubai is being sold at discount as war widens
Gold is being offered at a steep discount in Dubai, as the war in the Middle East grounds flights and hampers suppliers’ ability to move bullion out of the key trading hub.
Many buyers have stepped back from new orders, unwilling to pay exceptionally high shipping and insurance costs with no guarantee of prompt delivery. As a result, rather than paying indefinitely for storage and funding, traders are offering discounts of as much as $30 an ounce to the global benchmark in London, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named discussing market information.
Many shipments remained stranded on Friday, the people said, although some bullion had been loaded onto flights leaving Dubai from the middle of this week.
The United Arab Emirates, and Dubai in particular, is an important center for refining and exporting bullion to buyers across Asia, as well as a conduit for shipments from Switzerland, the UK and several African countries. Its airspace has been partially closed due to a barrage of Iranian missiles as the US-Israeli war with Tehran extends for a seventh day with no sign of resolution.
Gold is typically transported in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft. Even with flights from the UAE severely restricted, traders and logistics firms are reluctant to transport high-value cargoes overland to airports in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, due to the risks and complications involved, particularly when transiting land borders.
While the Dubai Good Delivery standard — the standard of gold bars widely used locally and regionally — is typically traded at a discount to the London prices, the shipping bottleneck is making the gold even cheaper.
“Several cargo shipments have been delayed or stranded, leading to short-term tightness in the availability of physical bullion in India,” said Renisha Chainani, head of research at Augmont Enterprises Ltd., one of India’s largest gold dealers.
But buyers in India – one of the largest consumers of gold shipped from Dubai – can afford to wait, with near-term demand relatively muted and inventories swollen by a large volume of imports in January, said Chirag Sheth, principal consultant for South Asia at Metals Focus.
“As of now, there is ample stock,” he said, “but if this drags on for a few months, then there will be a problem.”
Spot gold has gained nearly a fifth so far this year, gaining a footing above $5,000 an ounce, though trading has been choppy and the metal has come under pressure this week as the dollar has strengthened. It was last traded at around $5,172 an ounce.
There are also some signs that refiners are encountering challenges in sourcing doré – semi-refined gold bars typically cast at the mine site. India’s largest precious metals refinery, MMTC-PAMP, gets around 10% of its doré from a mine in the Middle East, but supplies have been disrupted, said chief executive officer and managing director Samit Guha. For new contracts supplied from elsewhere, logistics costs have soared by 60% to 70% since the war began, he said.
(By Yihui Xie and Preeti Soni)
Pricey gold keeps Indian buyers away; China demand steady
Demand for physical gold eased in India this week as volatile prices amid escalating Middle East conflict deterred buyers, while premiums in China held firm on a pickup in investment demand.
“Retail buyers (in India) are struggling to digest the hefty price hike. At these levels, buying gold is becoming unaffordable,” said Varghese Alukka, managing director of jeweller Jos Alukkas, based in Thrissur in the southern state of Kerala.
Domestic gold prices in India were trading around 160,000 rupees ($1,745.96) per 10 grams on Friday, after rising to 169,880 rupees earlier this week.
Bullion dealers in the region offered discounts of up to $28 per ounce to official domestic gold prices this week, inclusive of 6% import and 3% sales levies, compared with last week’s discount of up to $65 – a 10-month high.
Gold imports to India from key supplier the United Arab Emirates have nearly halted due to widespread flight cancellations and airspace closures following the conflict in the Middle East, helping narrow discounts, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank.
“Wedding season demand is still weak. Buyers are holding off on purchases because prices are so volatile,” he added.
In India, weddings are a major driver of gold purchases, with jewellery forming a crucial part of a bride’s attire and a common gift from family and guests.
Meanwhile, physical gold demand in Chinese markets remained robust despite higher spot prices.
Gold traded at premiums of $13-$15 an ounce over global benchmark prices this week, slightly above last week’s $12-$13 premium.
A steady premium “means physical (gold) demand is still very steady (in China), even after the gold price was above $5,000 … you can see people continue to buy some gold for long term investment,” said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals.
Prices were largely volatile and has fallen about 3% so far this week on fading interest rate-cut prospects and inflation concerns due to higher energy prices. Prices were around $5,135 per ounce on Friday.
In Hong Kong, physical gold traded at par to premiums of $2, while in Japan, gold was sold at par to premiums of up to $1.
In Singapore, gold was traded at a premium of about $2.25, lower from premiums of $3.50-$4.80 last week.
($1 = 91.6400 Indian rupees)
(By Noel John and Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
Troilus seeks up to $400 million in debt for Quebec gold mine
Canadian mining developer Troilus Mining Corp. plans to issue subordinated debt and other potential non-equity instruments to help advance its gold and copper project in Quebec.
The new financing will range from $300 million to $400 million and is expected to be announced within weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified because the matter is still private. The debt sale would lift the amount raised for reviving a mine in north-central Quebec to around $1.5 billion.
Troilus has already secured as much as $1 billion in financing from KfW, Societe Generale SA, Export Development Canada and other export agencies to restart the mine, which will also produce copper as a byproduct. The company sold C$173 million ($126 million) in shares in November.
In an emailed statement, the Montreal-based company said it’s evaluating a range of financing instruments that may include subordinated debt, but no decisions have been finalized. Shares of Troilus fell more than 6% in Toronto on Thursday.
The mine project comes at a moment when metals markets are soaring. Gold surged to a fresh record in January and has been hovering above $5,000 an ounce, fueled by an increasing appetite for haven assets amid geopolitical tensions. Copper also reached a record high at the end of January, thanks to supply concerns and increasing demand for the wiring metal.
Troilus, which has a stock market value of about C$1 billion, has seen its shares jump more than fivefold in the past 12 months. The company counts pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec among its top shareholders, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Quebec’s government has also approved an electricity deal with the company, the people said. Terms of the agreement with provincially owned utility Hydro-Quebec haven’t been disclosed.
Troilus signed supply agreements last year with Germany’s Aurubis AG and Sweden’s Boliden Commercial AB to provide semi-processed copper from the project.
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