The United Arab Emirates continues to strengthen its position as one of the world’s most important hubs for gold trading, supported by advanced commercial infrastructure, notable growth in trade flows, and flexible economic policies. During 2024 and 2025, the country’s gold sector recorded significant leaps, whether in value, traded volumes, or market expansion.
The UAE ranked as the world’s second-largest hub for gold trading in 2024.
The Minister of Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, revealed that the value of gold that passed through the UAE in 2024 amounted to 186 billion dollars, reinforcing its position as the second-largest global center for trading the precious metal.
The minister affirmed, during the Dubai Precious Metals Conference, that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements program played a key role in expanding the trade of precious metals. He noted that the UAE completed 32 rounds of negotiations, resulting in 13 trade agreements that entered into force, opening new markets and boosting trade flows with the country’s partners.
Al Zeyoudi pointed out that technology—especially blockchain, tokenization, and artificial intelligence—will play an increasingly central role in improving the efficiency of global gold flows by enhancing transparency, enabling traceability of metal sources, and increasing the effectiveness of supply chains.
Gold trade in the UAE saw a strong jump in 2025. The sector entered the year with greater momentum, and according to the latest available data, the first quarter of the current year recorded gold trade worth 225 billion dirhams, nearly 50% growth compared with the same period in 2024, when the figure stood at 150 billion dirhams.
The volume of traded gold reached 1,945 tonnes, a sign of unprecedented expansion in transaction levels.
The UAE’s gold exports reached about 53.41 billion dollars, strengthening its position as a global transit and re-export hub for bullion and jewelry.
Additional figures for 2024 show strong growth in the country’s gold trade. Imports for the year reached around 1,392 tonnes, including 748 tonnes from African nations, an 18% increase compared with 2023.
In 2024, 1.06% of the gold that passed through the UAE was valued at 1.97 billion dollars.
Local demand trends reflect a nearly 6% decline in consumer demand for gold jewelry within the country during 2024. In contrast, demand for gold bars and coins increased as investors showed greater interest in safe-haven assets.
Indicators suggest that the UAE is moving steadily toward cementing its status as a central global platform for gold trade, driven by the expansion of international trade agreements, the continuous annual growth of traded volumes, the adoption of advanced technologies that enhance transparency and supply-chain oversight, and the country’s transformation into a primary hub for gold imports from Africa and a re-export gateway to Asia and Europe.
With continued record growth expected in 2025, the UAE is projected to further strengthen its role as a strategic international center for gold trading, supported by wider digital trade expansion and the adoption of tokenization and blockchain technologies to facilitate the cross-border movement of the precious metal.
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