Growing demand from Middle Eastern buyers and expatriates ahead of summer holidays boosted Dubai gold sales value by 34 per cent in June from the same month last year, a top industry executive said.

 'We are seeing a very strong demand from the Middle East region and many expatriates are buying large amounts of gold for friends and families back home,' Tawhid Abdullah, managing director of the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, said.

'We have seen a 34 per cent jump in sales value in June and I expect to see a 40 per cent increase in sales value in July.'

The value of gold sales in Dubai rose 40 per cent on the year in the second quarter and 35 per cent in the first half of the year, Abdullah said.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt were among Middle East countries that drove demand for Dubai's gold jewellery, Abdullah said.

He did not detail the volume of Dubai gold sales.

Some local traders feared gold sales volume in the UAE could fall by about 10 per cent in volume in 2007, as they did in the previous year due to both volatile and high prices.

But industry executives said the regional appetite for gold remains strong despite relatively high prices.

In May 2006, spot gold bullion hit a 26-year high at $730 an ounce. It closed at $652.30/653.10 a troy ounce by 1515 GMT in Europe on Friday.

Tax-free jewellery in the UAE's gold souks and shopping malls draws GCC and Western tourists.

The GCC region's economies grew about 7 per cent in 2006, driven by high oil prices, bringing with it increasing appetite for jewellery.

First-quarter demand in the UAE, a federation of seven emirates which includes Abu Dhabi and trade hub Dubai, rose 5.7 per cent to 29.7 tonnes while sales value jumped 23.9 per cent to $741 million, the World Gold Council said in a report in May.Reuters