The Gold and Precious Metals Manufacturing Division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries and General Division of Jewellery at the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce denied what was circulated on some social media regarding halting gold trading in a joint press statement on Saturday.
The two divisions confirmed that there is absolutely no truth to halting buying and selling gold by any store, noting that what was stated on some social media platforms about the lack of transparency in pricing is baseless.
The statement also disclosed that gold pricing in Egypt is subject to complete transparency according to mechanisms of supply and demand and according to the price per ounce in global stock exchanges.
Furthermore, they pointed out that such fictitious allegations aim to create a state of congestion and turmoil in the local market, calling on everyone to avoid circulating them, especially since there are news websites that reported these rumours without verifying their authenticity and reported incorrect news from members who are not included in the division.
Moreover, they noted that such rumours harm the Egyptian economy, adding that “all legal measures will be taken against any promoters of such rumours.”
Reports of the closure of the gold market in Egypt saturated social media on Friday evening, causing tension and angered some investors in the market after the publication of a paper published by Al-Eman Company stating a decision to stop buying and selling in the Egyptian gold market due to a number of abuses.
According to the alleged statement, the halt on gold trading will continue until the price of gold in the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) stabilises.
The statement claimed that the price of a gram of 21K gold through the global stock exchange and the CBE recorded EGP 977 on Friday, however, it was allegedly being sold in the local market at more than EGP 1,220, which opened the road to a parallel market that would destabilise the economy.
On his part, Member of the Gold Division at the Chamber of Commerce in Cairo Amr Al-Maghrabi said that the rumours circulated about halting the trade of gold in Egypt are not true.
He added that the post circulating on social media is incorrect and untrue because there is no company named Al-Eman registered in the records of the Gold Division at the Federation of Chambers of Commerce.
Al-Maghrabi also noted that the spikes in gold prices in the local market resulted from a significant increase in the volume of demand, especially after the CBE purchased 44 tonnes of gold from the local market, which led to a decrease in the supply of crude in addition to difficulties in the import of ore.
Furthermore, he disclosed that there is a shortage in supply and an increase in demand, and the movement of local prices is a result of the natural mechanisms of supply and demand, and that all of this has no effect in any way on the regularity of the market movement, buying, or selling.
