At Bao Tin Minh Chau, SJC gold prices are currently listed at 76.45-78.05 million dong/tael, down 900,000 dong/tael compared to before Tet. The price of 24k plain gold rings here also decreased to 64.63-65.73 million dong/tael.
Similarly, at the DOJI Group, the price of plain gold rings decreased by 600,000 dong/tael to 63.90-64.95 million dong/tael. SJC gold prices are only 76.35-78.05 million dong/tael, about 1 million dong/tael lower than before Tet.
In the international market, gold prices plunged on February 13th and have not shown signs of recovery. The precious metal is currently trading at $1,992.7 per ounce. Converted according to the VND/USD exchange rate, the international gold price is equivalent to about 59.5 million dong/tael, excluding taxes and fees.
Gold prices dropped sharply after the US inflation report was announced to be higher than expected, leading investors to expect the Federal Reserve (FED) to postpone interest rate cuts for a longer period of time.
In particular, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January increased by 0.3% compared to December 2023, according to the latest data released by the US Department of Labor on Tuesday. This figure is slightly higher than the 0.2% increase in December. Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate fell to 3.1% from 3.4% the previous month. Both indexes exceeded the expectations of economists surveyed by Dow Jones and Wall Street. They expected the monthly increase to be 0.2% and the annual increase to be 2.9%.
The CPI report also caused yields on US bonds and the USD to strengthen. The DXY index, which measures the strength of the US dollar against key currencies, climbed to 104.8 points, the highest in 3 months.
Many analysts believe that gold will continue to face difficulties until the FED provides clearer signals on interest rate cuts and monetary easing.
