Frequently Asked Questions

A karat (K) is a measure of gold purity expressed in 24ths. Pure gold is 24K (99.9% pure). Lower karats indicate the gold is alloyed with other metals like copper or silver to make it harder for jewelry. For example, 18K means 18 parts gold out of 24, or 75% pure gold.

24K is pure gold (99.9%, soft, used for investment bars and coins). 22K is 91.7% pure (common in Asian jewelry). 21K is 87.5% pure (very popular in the Gulf and Egypt for jewelry). 18K is 75% pure (most common globally for fine jewelry — durable enough to set stones). Lower purity means harder gold and a lower price per gram.

24K has the highest gold content per gram, so by weight it is worth the most. But "valuable" depends on what you are buying. A piece of 24K bullion is a pure investment, while an 18K piece of jewelry is also valued for craftsmanship and design. For pure gold storage, 24K wins. For everyday wear, 18K or 21K hold up better against scratches and dents.

Multiply the gram weight by the source karat divided by the target karat. To convert 100 g of 21K into an 18K equivalent: 100 × (21 ÷ 18) ≈ 116.67 g of 18K (you would need 116 g of 18K to hold the same pure gold). Or use the purity ratio: 21K is 87.5% pure, 18K is 75% pure — 100 g × 0.875 = 87.5 g of pure gold.

Use the formula: weight (grams) × purity factor × spot price per gram. The purity factor is the karat divided by 24 (so 21K = 21/24 = 0.875). Example: 50 g of 21K at $80/g spot = 50 × 0.875 × 80 = $3,500 of pure gold content. Dealers add a making fee and a margin on top of this base value.

The spot price is the international benchmark for one troy ounce (≈ 31.1 g) of pure gold, traded 24/7 across COMEX, the London bullion market and the Shanghai Gold Exchange. It reflects supply and demand from central banks, ETFs, refiners and futures traders. Most platforms quote it in US dollars per troy ounce, and DahabPro converts it into your local currency per gram.

Local prices include several layers above spot: refining costs, transport and insurance, import duties or VAT, dealer margin, and the daily exchange rate between USD and the local currency. They also reflect local supply-demand — Eid, wedding seasons and political events can push local premiums up. The spread is usually 1-5% over spot for investment bars and higher for jewelry.

Gold is globally priced in US dollars. When the dollar strengthens, gold becomes more expensive for buyers using other currencies, dampening demand and pushing the dollar price down. When the dollar weakens, the opposite happens — gold becomes cheaper abroad, demand rises, and the price climbs. This inverse relationship is one of the most consistent patterns in commodity markets.

The DXY (or USDX) measures the value of the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies: the euro (57.6% weight), Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc. A rising DXY means the dollar is gaining strength relative to these currencies — a falling DXY means the opposite. Traders use it as a single number to track dollar momentum.

Because gold is priced in dollars, DXY and gold tend to move in opposite directions. A 1% rise in DXY often corresponds to a fractional pullback in gold (the precise ratio varies with market conditions). Watching the DXY alongside gold helps anticipate moves — a sustained DXY breakout above its 200-day moving average often coincides with gold weakness, and vice versa.

An interest rate is the cost of borrowing money or the return on deposits, set indirectly by central banks (the Fed for the US, the ECB for Europe). The "nominal" rate is the headline number, while the "real" rate is the nominal rate minus inflation expectations. Real rates matter more than nominal ones for gold, because they show whether your money would actually grow in purchasing power if held in bonds.

Gold does not pay interest or dividends. When real interest rates are high, investors prefer Treasury bonds or savings accounts that earn a positive yield, so gold demand falls. When real rates are negative (inflation outpaces nominal yields), gold becomes more attractive as a store of value — the "opportunity cost" of holding gold disappears. The US 10-year real yield (TIPS yield) is the single most-watched rate for gold traders.

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam — a mandatory annual charity equal to 2.5% of certain assets held above a minimum threshold (the Nisab) for one full lunar year (hawl). For gold, the Nisab equals the value of 85 grams of pure (24K) gold. If your gold holdings meet or exceed this threshold continuously for a lunar year, you owe 2.5% of their current market value to eligible recipients.

The Nisab for gold is fixed at 85 grams (or 20 mithqal / 7.5 tola in classical units) of pure 24K gold. Its monetary value changes with the daily spot price. To compute today's Nisab in your currency: 85 × current spot price per gram. If you hold gold of mixed karats, convert each to its 24K-equivalent weight first using the purity factor (e.g. 100 g of 21K = 100 × 0.875 = 87.5 g of pure gold). Compare the total to 85 g — if equal or greater, Zakat is due.

Use this two-step formula. Step 1 — convert each piece to pure-gold equivalent: weight × (karat ÷ 24). For example 100 g 24K = 100 g pure, 100 g 22K = 91.67 g pure, 100 g 21K = 87.5 g pure, 100 g 18K = 75 g pure. Step 2 — multiply the total pure-gold weight by the current spot price per gram, then by 2.5% (0.025). Worked example: you hold 50 g 21K + 30 g 18K = (50 × 0.875) + (30 × 0.75) = 43.75 + 22.5 = 66.25 g of pure gold. At $80/g spot: 66.25 × 80 × 0.025 = $132.50 in Zakat. Note: if your total pure-gold equivalent is below 85 g and you hold no other zakatable wealth, no Zakat is due.

Scholars differ. The Hanafi school holds that Zakat is due on all gold above the Nisab regardless of use, including worn jewelry. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools generally exempt jewelry that is regularly worn within "customary" amounts, taxing only investment gold, bullion, coins and excess jewelry kept for storage. Most contemporary Gulf and Egyptian fatwa councils follow the Hanafi position to err on the side of caution. Consult a qualified scholar for your specific case, or use DahabPro's Zakat calculator at /zakat to apply the rules to your holdings.

Gold trades almost 24/7 across a global network of exchanges (COMEX in New York, the London bullion market, the Shanghai Gold Exchange) and the OTC interbank market. Every transaction adjusts the live price, and high-frequency traders, central bank flows, ETF redemptions, USD moves and incoming economic data feed continuous order-flow. Even seconds-level news (a Fed comment, a Middle East headline) can swing the price several dollars per ounce. The "minute-by-minute" price you see is just the most recent traded quote in this continuous market.

Five main forces drive gold: (1) the US dollar — gold is priced in USD, so dollar strength weighs on gold and dollar weakness lifts it. (2) Real interest rates — when inflation-adjusted bond yields fall, gold becomes more attractive. (3) Central bank demand — large purchases by the People's Bank of China, the Reserve Bank of India and Eastern European central banks set a structural floor. (4) Geopolitical risk and inflation expectations — gold is the classic safe haven. (5) Supply-side factors — mine production, recycling and ETF flows tilt the short-term balance. DahabPro's signal engine fuses technicals with macro events and DXY/real-yield overlays to capture all of these.

Gold is the oldest "store of value" — it has no counterparty risk (unlike bonds or stocks), is not tied to any government's solvency, and is universally accepted. When war breaks out, currencies are debased or capital controls loom, investors and central banks rotate into gold as insurance. Major spikes followed the 1973 oil crisis, the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 pandemic and the 2022 Russia-Ukraine invasion. The bigger the systemic shock, the larger the safe-haven bid for gold.

"Spot" refers to the price for immediate delivery (settled in two business days), as distinct from futures or forward prices for delivery on a future date. The spot gold price is the live, continuous benchmark traded around the clock and quoted in US dollars per troy ounce. Jewelers, refiners and central banks reference it to settle physical transactions today, while COMEX futures (e.g. GC, the December contract) reflect expectations about gold's price weeks or months ahead. Spot and the front-month future stay within fractions of a percent of each other thanks to arbitrage.

XAU/USD is the ticker symbol for spot gold quoted against the US dollar. "XAU" is the ISO 4217 currency code for one troy ounce of gold (the X prefix denotes a non-national asset, and AU is gold's chemical symbol). "USD" is the US dollar. The pair behaves like a forex currency pair: a quote of "XAU/USD 2,350" means one troy ounce of gold is worth $2,350. You will see XAU/USD on most FX, CFD and bullion-trading platforms as the standard real-time gold benchmark.

There are two different "ounces" and they're often confused. The avoirdupois ounce (ounce), used for everyday weights like food and consumer products, equals 28.35 grams. The troy ounce (ozt), used worldwide for pricing precious metals like gold, silver and platinum, equals 31.1035 grams — about 10% heavier than a regular ounce. So when you see global gold prices quoted "per ounce", they always refer to the troy ounce, never the regular one. The name "troy" comes from Troyes, the medieval French trading city where this weight system was standardized.