Discount deals on Dubai gold as widening war chokes trade routes

GOLD IS BEING offered at a steep discount in Dubai, as the war in the Middle East grounds flights and hampers suppliers’ ability to move bullion out of the key trading hub.

- YIHUI XIE & PREETI SONI

Many buyers have stepped back from new orders, unwilling to pay exceptionally high shipping and insurance costs with no guarantee of prompt delivery.

As a result, rather than paying indefinitely for storage and funding, traders are offering discounts of as much as $30 an ounce to the global benchmark in London, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named discussing market information.

Many shipments remained stranded on Friday, the people said, although some bullion had been loaded onto flights leaving Dubai from the middle of this week.