Gold is one of the few things most people buy priced by purity. Walk into a jewellery shop in Riyadh or Dubai and the board behind the counter lists prices for 24K, 22K, 21K and 18K gold — each updated daily, often shown in both English and Arabic. But where do those numbers actually come from? Here is how daily gold karat prices are tracked and calculated.
It starts with the spot price
Every calculation begins with the international spot price of pure gold — the 24K benchmark quoted in US dollars per troy ounce. It is derived from continuous trading on global markets and moves around the clock, so the baseline never sits still.
Karat maths: from 24K down to 18K
A karat is a purity ratio out of 24. 24K gold is 99.9% pure gold. Every lower karat is a simple fraction of that price:
- 22K = 22/24 = 91.6% of the 24K price
- 21K = 21/24 = 87.5% of the 24K price
- 18K = 18/24 = 75% of the 24K price
So if a gram of 24K gold costs X, a gram of 18K gold is worth roughly 0.75 × X before anything else is added. These fractions are fixed maths — only the spot price moves.
Converting to local currency
The spot price is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce (31.1035 grams), so publishing a daily local price takes two conversions:
- Ounce to gram: divide by 31.1035.
- USD to SAR or AED: multiply by the prevailing exchange rate. Both the Saudi riyal and the UAE dirham are pegged to the US dollar, which keeps this step stable.
This is why the daily number can move even when the dollar price of gold is flat — any shift in the exchange rate shows up in the local price.
Why it updates daily
Because gold trades continuously across global markets, the spot price changes overnight while Gulf markets are closed. Daily updates capture all of that movement, so the morning board in a souk reflects last night's trading in New York and Asia.
What the board doesn't show
The published karat price is the metal's value. A shop's selling price adds VAT, the shop's margin and making charges — so two shops can quote slightly different retail numbers from the same base price. Knowing the base price first puts you in a much stronger position to negotiate.
Checking the daily number
Services like KaratIndex publish these daily karat prices — 24K, 22K, 21K and 18K — for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in English and Arabic, so you can compare the day's base price before you shop.
I work on KaratIndex, a daily gold-price reference for Saudi Arabia and the UAE with karat prices in English and Arabic.
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