Maturing Bank Certificates Move Cash into Egypt’s Gold Market, Lifting Demand and Imports
July 29, 2026 – Cairo, Egypt – Recent high-yield bank certificates matured and sent cash into Egypt’s gold market. The move pushed local demand alongside the regular summer rise. A report by Gold Bullion shows Egypt’s gold imports jumped to more than fifteen times their usual level in the first half of 2026. ### Local Gold Prices Rise with Growing Demand
Gold in Egypt moved up over the past week. The price of 21-karat gold climbed by EGP 175 per gram, a gain of about 3%. It started the week at EGP 5,805 per gram, then rose to EGP 5,980 and once reached a monthly high of EGP 6,010 per gram.
Gold broke the EGP 5,900 line after holding strong above EGP 5,800 per gram. Strong buying pushed prices higher, though the pace slowed as the figure neared EGP 6,000. For the year to date, 21-karat gold now sits EGP 150 per gram higher—about 2.5% up—after earlier losses during tense global events.
Currency Drop and Geopolitical Risks Affect Gold
While Egypt’s local market has grown, global gold prices fell 6.2% since the start of 2026, sliding about $274 per ounce. The report links Egypt’s strong local gold performance to a weaker Egyptian pound against the US dollar in a tense global setting.
Last week, the US dollar gained about 1.6% against the Egyptian pound and closed at EGP 51.40. Since early July, the dollar gained roughly 4.3% (over EGP 2). Fears from conflict, especially involving Iran, led investors to pull roughly $1.92 billion from Egypt’s debt market. The pound’s fall makes gold, priced in local currency, a safe bet against currency shifts.
Supply and Demand in the Gold Market
The Gold Bullion report notes that the premium over gold’s fair price widened after a period of shrinking. This gap shows a clear mismatch between supply and demand. Lower local prices in the summer and actions by Egyptians returning home drove more purchases. Meanwhile, maturing bank certificates shifted cash from banks to gold, pushing local buying further.
Gold Imports Jump to Top Spot
Egypt’s gold imports soared to $4.05 billion in the first half of 2026. In the same period last year, imports were only $249.6 million, an increase of more than fifteen times. Gold now is Egypt’s largest non-oil purchase, making up 8.4% of all non-oil imports. Higher imports come from buyers who need gold for use as well as for resale, even as local prices stay tied to global gold and exchange rate moves.
Global Gold Trends and Price Drivers
Globally, gold ended its two-week slide with a weekly gain. Spot gold moved up 0.9% during the week, rising from about $3,995 to a peak of $4,166 before settling near $4,052 per ounce. Although gold briefly climbed past the $4,080–$4,100 mark, slower buying pushed the price back to around $4,000. An 11% jump in oil prices contributed to these moves. Oil prices climbed past $100 per barrel—a figure unseen for more than two months—as tensions grew between the US and Iran and the critical Hormuz Strait closed. This area moves around 20% of the world’s energy.
Higher oil prices stoke concerns about rising costs. Investors now see US interest rates possibly staying high for longer, with two hikes expected in 2026 and a strong chance of an increase in September, even if the Fed holds steady next week. Following this, the US dollar climbed to a three-week high, and US Treasury yields reached their highest in over 18 months.
Even as a stronger dollar and rising yields tend to pull down the price of gold, worries over conflict and market risks drive many to hold gold as a safe asset.
