Gold breaks $3,400 mark: Kurdistan feels the heat
Shafaq News/ The gold market in Kurdistan Region is feeling the shock of historic global price surges, driven entirely by international forces, a local official said Tuesday.
Salar Omar, spokesperson for Al-Sulaymaniyah’s goldsmiths' market, told Shafaq News the price of an ounce climbed to $3,475 — up from $3,412 at the start of global trading, adding that prices had already jumped over $170 on Monday alone, driven by strong international demand and intensifying economic rivalry between the United States and China.
“China is accumulating large amounts of gold to reduce its dependence on the US dollar,” Omar explained. “This strategy is pushing gold prices higher and could lead to a further weakening of the dollar — a strategic challenge for the US economy.”
Locally, he emphasized that the spike is tied solely to global market forces, with no domestic factors contributing to the rise in Kurdistan. He noted that the price of one kilogram of 21-carat gold has exceeded $110,000—an all-time high for the Region.
Omar advised citizens to monitor prices cautiously, warning that “ongoing global uncertainty may keep gold markets volatile in the near term.”
On Tuesday, prices per mithqal reached 619,000 IQD ($470.44) for 18-carat, 725,000 IQD ($551.00) for 21-carat, and 824,000 IQD ($626.24) for 24-carat gold.
