A gold standard stands to boost demand for the metal as most Shariah buyers can only invest in real estate, Islamic bonds and some stocks. Because of the physical backing requirement, Comex gold futures wouldn’t qualify to be Shariah-compliant while the Singapore gold contract would, according to Matthew Keen, founder of Evidens Consultancy in Dubai.

“Hundreds of tons” of new demand could be created, said Natalie Dempster, a managing director of the World Gold Council. “The standard would fill an important gap in the market.”

Gold Standard in Islamic Finance ‘Almost There’ for Submission