Local gold prices keep falling

HCMC – Gold prices in the local market continued to drop by over VND600,000 a tael on Wednesday morning following the freefall of the precious metal in the New York market on Tuesday night.

                                  

Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) on Wednesday morning quoted the yellow metal at VND41.1 million a tael for buying and VND41.3 million for selling. Meanwhile, Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) bought a tael of gold at VND41.1 million and sold it at VND41.25 million.

Hanoi-based Bao Tin Minh Chau Co. still maintained the lowest price among industry insiders, at VND40.8-41.1 million for buying and selling respectively.

As such, gold prices at home were still about VND900,000 higher than international markets for one tael which is equivalent to 1.2 troy ounces. In Asia, gold was traded on Wednesday morning at US$1597.8 an ounce, or a dip of US$7.5 versus the opening price as reported on website www.kitco.com as of 9a.m.

The local gold market on Wednesday was seen busier than other days. Nguyen Cong Tuong, head of the SJC sales department, said local residents had tended to sell gold over the past few days but they turned buyers on Wednesday.

SJC on Wednesday morning bought 800 taels and sold 1,200 taels, with the majority of trading volumes going to citizens rather than investors, Tuong noted, adding local banks also had resumed selling gold in recent days.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Chi, general director of Sacombank Jewelry Company (SBJ), said the public on Wednesday morning still continued to offload gold, so her firm had to keep the trading volume balanced by selling gold to local lenders and gold shops.

As local people no longer want bars bearing SBJ brand, Chi’s company has sold out this kind of gold to its parent bank Sacombank while awaiting the license to convert the brand into SJC brand subject to the central bank’s regulation.

According to Reuters, gold prices vigorously dwindled given the firmer U.S. dollar against other currencies in the currency basket. The fact that investors have rushed to sell out gold for fear of soaring sovereign debt crisis in Europe has dragged down gold prices as well.