Dubai, Indian allies plan gold bourse

Dubai and two partners from India plan to set up by November the first exchange in the Persian Gulf region that trades in the precious metal...

Dubai and two partners from India plan to set up by November the first exchange in the Persian Gulf region that trades in the precious metal, as world gold prices rise.

The government-run Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd and Financial Technologies (India) Ltd, a financial-software designer, had said they would set up the electronic exchange in the United Arab Emirates in the second half of 2005.

‘‘We will open initially 5 days a week, but by the New Year we will become the first exchange in the world to trade seven days a week,’’ Colin Griffith, the Executive Director for gold and precious metals at the Dubai Center, said in an interview on Tuesday.

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‘‘The 7-day week may introduce some volatility into world gold market,’’ Griffith said.

Dubai is a member of the United Arab Emirates Federation, the world’s sixth-largest consumer of gold. It’s seeking to reverse a five-year decline in its gold trade after India relaxed regulations on importing the metal.

Dubai consumed about a quarter of the 375 tonnes of gold it imported in each of 2003 and 2004.

The rest was re-exported to India, Saudi Arabia and other countries. — PTI