Gold prices dropped slightly at the opening of the markets in the UAE on Wednesday.

According to the Dubai Jewellery Group, the 24K was trading at Dh281.75 per gram on Wednesday morning, down from Dh282 per gram at the close of the markets on Tuesday. The other variants, 22K, 21K and 18K, were trading at Dh260.75, Dh252.5 and Dh216.5 per gram, respectively.

Spot gold was trading at $2,326.76 per ounce at 9.05am UAE time, up 0.13 per cent.

The yellow metal fell for two consecutive days this week as concerns about the Middle East crisis eased among global investors.

Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial, said Iran’s decision to not retaliate against Israel lowered some of the war risk premium that has permeated the markets since the conflict began.

“This somewhat dented gold’s haven demand. It also triggered a round of profit-booking, considering gold has rallied nearly 16 per cent since mid-February despite a stronger greenback and buoyant treasury yields,” he said.

“Broadly speaking, gold is supported by a revival in demand from Chinese consumers and healthy purchasing activity by central banks. Its near-term trajectory could be influenced by geopolitical events as well as key economic indicators such as this week’s core PCE Price index,” said Valecha.