UAE's gold reserves surge nearly 26% in 2025 amid robust banking sector growth

The UAE’s gold holdings have risen sharply in 2025, alongside broad-based growth in deposits and banking assets, signaling resilient financial momentum. The Central Bank’s latest data reflects sustained strength in local and foreign currency positions, even as global gold prices dip slightly amid cautious US monetary policy signals.
UAE gold reserves see sharp increase in 2025

As of the end of May 2025, the UAE Central Bank 's gold reserves stood at 28.93 billion dirhams ($7.9 billion) — marking a 25.9% increase in just five months.

On a monthly basis, reserves grew as well, rising from 28.65 billion dirhams in April to 28.79 billion dirhams in May, reflecting a 0.49% uptick.

This upward trend in gold holdings underscores continued efforts by the regulator to diversify its reserve assets and hedge against global financial volatility.
Deposit base expands across the board

The Central Bank’s bulletin also showed significant increases across demand, savings, and time deposits

Demand Deposits

• Total demand deposits exceeded 1.16 trillion dirhams by May-end, up from 1.10 trillion dirhams at the close of 2024.
• Of this amount:
  
  
  • 892.57 billion dirhams were held in local currency
  • 274.33 billion dirhams were in foreign currencies

Savings Deposits

• Grew to 359.57 billion dirhams by May 2025, up from 317.48 billion dirhams in December 2024
• Breakdown:
  
  
  • 305.51 billion dirhams in local currency
  • 54.06 billion dirhams in foreign currencies

Time Deposits

• Surpassed the 1 trillion dirham threshold for the first time by May-end
• Composition:
  
  
  • 614.85 billion dirhams in local currency
  • 398.35 billion dirhams in foreign currencies

The sharp growth across all deposit types signals robust confidence in the domestic banking system, supported by healthy liquidity levels and deposit diversification.
Banking sector assets and regional trends

The UAE’s banking sector continued to expand steadily. As of April 2025, total banking assets — including bankers’ acceptances — rose by 0.6%, reaching 4.75 trillion dirhams.

This growth was supported by two key drivers:

• A sustained demand for credit
• A marked increase in non-resident deposits

Across the Gulf region, banking trends varied:

• Kuwait recorded a 6.7% year-on-year rise in total banking assets, reaching 93.5 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($303 billion) in March
• Saudi Arabia saw a 7.4% increase, with banking assets climbing to SR5.3 trillion ($1.41 trillion) in April
• Qatar registered a slight 0.1% monthly decline, with total banking assets falling to 2.07 trillion riyals ($559 billion), largely due to weaker domestic holdings

Global gold prices dip as fed holds rates steady

While the UAE’s gold reserves grew, global gold prices experienced a modest decline amid signals from the US Federal Reserve.

• As of 11:02 a.m. Saudi time on Thursday, spot gold slipped by 0.2%, priced at $3,340.09 per ounce
• US gold futures for December delivery also fell 0.2%, down to $3,382.30

The dip followed the release of minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, which revealed broad consensus on maintaining interest rates at current levels. Only a minority of policymakers favored a rate cut.

Though the Fed has held rates steady since December 2024, investor sentiment leans toward an 81% probability of a quarter-point cut by September, based on CME’s FedWatch Tool.

Markets are now looking ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium (Aug. 21–23), where he may clarify the Fed’s stance — balancing between supporting labor markets and controlling inflation.