Jeweller rents gold to facilitate marriage as prices soar

Egyptian jeweller Hamdi Ahmed Ali is renting gold to soon-to-webs as gold prices are rapidly increasing.

Ali, who resides in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya, said he takes the couple’s ID cards as a guarantee, adding that his initiative aims to help young people in finalising complete their marriage arrangements.

“It is becoming really difficult for young people to get married because of the soaring gold prices,” Ali said. Typically, gold requests range from 20 to 50 grammes, according to Ali. He noted that this is extremely stressful for young people.

At the end of last week, gold prices in Egypt reached unprecedented historical levels. For the first time in the history of Egypt, the price of a gram of gold exceeded 3,000 Egyptian pounds, or about $100.

No marriage would be complete without gold jewellery because gold is so closely associated with Egyptian and Muslim culture.

The jeweller said that some young men purchased the gold and later sold it because of their need for money.

Ali lends the young people the gold for a month to use at their convenience. Then, they return it and pay the rental cost.

The value of the rent per gramme for one month is 100 Egyptian pounds, meaning that if he takes 50 grammes, he will pay 5000 Egyptian pounds.

“This is symbolic when compared to the real gold purchase prices,” he said. He added that when a young man buys gold and sells it again, he loses an amount of money.

“So, renting is an ideal solution to save money and get married,” he added.