Gold Prices Stabilize, 21-Karat at EGP 2155

Gold prices stabilized in local markets during Thursday's trades, accompanied by a stability in the global exchange rate per ounce.

This trend was spurred on by the weakened U.S. dollar and a slump in American Treasury bond yields, following the decision by Fitch Ratings to downgrade the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+. This move has spurred investors to pivot toward gold as a secure asset amidst economic turbulence.

Saeed Embabi, CEO of the online gold and jewelry trading platform "iSagha," noted that gold prices stabilized in local markets during Thursday's transactions, compared to the close of business on Wednesday. This drove the price of 21-carat gold to a benchmark of 2,155 Egyptian pounds. Similarly, the price per ounce on the global exchange settled at 1,935 dollars.

Embabi further detailed that 24-carat gold registered 2,463 pounds, 18-carat gold hit 1,847 pounds. The Egyptian gold pound settled at 17,240 pounds.

On Wednesday, Fitch Ratings – the international credit rating agency – downgraded the U.S. government's credit rating from AAA to AA+. The agency pointed to mounting debts across different governmental strata and a decline in governance standards over the last two decades as its reasoning.

Contributed by Nada Mustafa