Physical gold jewellery sales going UP.

Gold jewellery sales in Abu Dhabi soared 300 percent in volume and almost 250 percent in value in August from a year earlier after the metal dropped to nine-month lows, the emirate's industry group said on Monday 1 Sept 2008.

The Gulf Arab emirate's gold demand was steady in July, as many physical buyers, mainly from the Indian sub-continent, headed home for the summer holidays.

Many people took advantage of lower gold prices to buy all the jewellery they wanted for Ramadan because they want to keep it until prices rise again to make profit.

The lunar month of Ramadan, which this year 2008 coincides with September, is a time when devout Muslims refrain from all food, drink and sex during daylight hours. It ends with a feast, during which many couples marry.

Many Indian buyers followed the same logic and bought gold for Diwali in August.

Hindu weddings normally are held between September and November, and Diwali, the important Hindu festival of lights, is in October.

Tax-free jewellery shopping in the United Arab Emirates, a seven-member federation that includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, known as the "City of Gold" lures many Gulf and Western tourists.

The physical demand for gold that is supporting it for now at $800 per-ounce.

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