Gold Standard Approved for Islamic Finance, Opening New Market

Gold is acceptable for the first time as an investment in Islamic finance after the group that sets standards for the industry adopted Shariah-compliant rules for trading the metal. The rules approved Nov. 19 allow gold to be used in the $1.88 trillion Islamic finance business, the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions said Monday in a statement. The AAOIFI developed the standards with help from the producer-funded World Gold Council, which has said the new rules could spur demand for “hundreds of tons” of gold. The SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion traded under stock symbol GLD, will probably qualify, and the standard may open new demand to central banks, Mohd Daud Bakar, a Shariah scholar, said at a press conference in Dubai Monday. Comex gold futures wouldn’t qualify because of a physical backing requirement, he said. “We fully expect to announce imminently that GLD does qualify,” Natalie Dempst...

from GoldBroker.com https://www.goldbroker.com/news/gold-standard-approved-for-islamic-finance-opening-new-market-1053