Vietnam’s gold price adjusted 36 times within one day
Vietnam’s gold price adjusted 36 times within one day
Thursday might have been a crazy day for gold traders in Vietnam, as the precious metal saw as many as 36 price adjustments, only to eventually fall two percent compared to one day earlier.
Gold was priced at VND33.22 million (US$1,526) a tael in the opening session, and ended at VND33.02 million ($1,517) a tael, VND710,000 ($32.61) a tael lower than the closing price on Wednesday.
In Vietnam, gold is sold in taels, each of which is equivalent to 37.5 grams, or 1.21 troy ounces.
Saigon Jewelry Co. (SJC), the country’s biggest gold trader, adjusted the gold price as many as 36 times on Thursday.
At some points, the price was as low as VND32.87 million ($1,510) a tael.
The closing price yesterday was as much as VND1.72 million ($80) a tael lower than a month earlier.
The falling price has forced gold holders to sell out to avoid bigger losses.
“Gold holders like me are incurring huge losses due to the slumping price,” a gold holder told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper while she was waiting to sell three taels at SJC.
The woman said she has bought dozens of gold taels at different prices, ranging from VND35 million ($1,608) to VND40 million ($1,837) a tael, and the Thursday sellout was a reluctant move.
“I did not want to sell, but I need money to pay for my son’s tuition,” she said.
Vu, who also sold four SJC taels yesterday afternoon, said he could hardly believe in his eyes upon seeing price drop so drastically.
“I lost nearly VND1 million [$46] for every tael of gold I own in only two days,” he said.
Still, there were also people who took advantage of the low prices to buy gold. For those who borrowed loans in gold, this was a good time to clear debts.
A gold shop in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, advised customers to take advantage of the chance to buy gold at the reported lowest price in recent years.
But customers were hesitant, as they did not know when the downward trend would stop.
In the meantime, SJC said it repeatedly received requests to sell hundreds of taels on Thursday.
“While there was a balance between requests to sell and buy the previous days, there were more demands to sell than to buy yesterday,” an SJC representative said.
“The falling gold price on the global market also led to the unbalance.”
The global gold price closed yesterday at $1,144.6 an ounce, or VND30.14 million a tael, down only $10 an ounce from Wednesday.
The gap between Vietnamese and global gold prices thus narrowed to VND2.88 million ($132) a tael.
