DDE Trades 225 Million Carats in 2011; Value Up 11.5%

Almas Tower, DMCC’s Headquarters

(IDEX Online News) – Dubai continues to be a vibrant trading hub for both diamonds and gold. According to figures released by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC), the value of diamonds traded last year increased in value by 11.5 percent over 2010 while the value of gold reached a record $56 billion.

The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) saw 255 million carats of goods, worth $39 billion traded during the year.

The value of gold traded increased 35 percent to a record $56 billion, reflecting both an increase in volume and in prices. Total trading volume for 2011 was 1,200 tons at an average realized gold price of $1,571. This represented an increase of 6.3 percent in total volumes traded over the previous year.

"Our strategy is to continue enhancing commodity trade flows through Dubai by enabling businesses to access new markets as they shift from West to East and North to South,” said DMCC executive chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayem.