Gold in the ‘Whirlwind’… Price

When the gold price fluctuates

After a sharp increase following the special Lunar New Year occasion on the God of Wealth Day, the gold price experienced a free fall, causing many buyers who bought on this occasion to suffer heavy losses, especially for gold rings (up to 500-600 thousand VND/tael). However, before the developments of the gold price at the end of February, which showed signs of a strong increase, domestic gold immediately regained momentum. In fact, the price of gold rings had a dramatic turnaround, ending February with an additional increase of 500 thousand VND, turning the buyers from losses to net profits.

What are the gold prices on February 28 in the domestic and international markets? According to Kitco, the world gold price recorded at 2,030.145 USD/ounce on the morning of February 28, Vietnamese time. The gold price decreased by 3.08 USD/ounce compared to the previous day. Converted at the current exchange rate at Vietcombank, the world gold is priced at about 59.588 million VND/tael (excluding taxes and fees). Thus, the piece of SJC gold is still priced higher than the international gold price at 17.312 million VND/tael. The SJC gold price at Bao Tin Minh Chau Company is also traded at the level of 77.00 – 78.90 million VND/tael (buying – selling). Meanwhile, at Bao Tin Manh Hai, it is traded at the level of 77.00 – 78.90 million VND/tael (buying – selling).

Phillip Streible, Chief Market Strategist at Blue Line, said: “Mild inflation data will put pressure on the gold market, but it is well supported at the $2,000 level by the buying power of central banks. The FED officials are unlikely to change their stance until there is more data.” “Gold will reach a record high when interest rate cuts become a reality,” added Phillip.

According to experts, the gold price is also supported when the middle class in China strives to “preserve declining assets due to the real estate market crisis and the prolonged stock market sell-off,” Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, wrote in a note. Official data shows that China, the leading gold consumer, imported net gold through Hong Kong in January at the highest level since mid-2018.

Unpredictable profits and losses

The gold market in Vietnam is constantly experiencing emotional whirlpools, not unrelated to the impact of the world gold price. As mentioned, the domestic gold price in 2023 has undergone too many changes, even pushing investors into a “laugh and cry” situation. Remember at the end of December, when gold had a week of dramatic fluctuations, jumping hourly to the 80 million VND/tael threshold, the whole country was overwhelmed and rushed to buy gold, emptying savings accounts. Seeing the thirst of the market, regulatory agencies had to speak out. Accordingly, the State Bank of Vietnam affirmed that it would closely monitor to control price manipulation tricks and, at the same time, it is necessary to consider “opening the door” to gold imports to bring the domestic price closer to the international price. The fever subsided thanks to psychological reassurance, but it seems that amending Decree 24 as well as gold imports are still difficult problems for the manager to contemplate and seek advice from all parties.

After more than 2 months of monitoring market movements, gold is facing the opportunity to “surge” in the early days of the God of Wealth. Despite the short-lived effect of the God of Wealth, until now, faced with the opportunity for gold prices to rise globally, it seems that lowering the gold price domestically is still a difficult problem. Many people are particularly interested in the direction of amending Decree 24 on managing gold business activities and the possibility of abolishing the monopoly on gold pieces. When the large gap between SJC gold price and the world price still continues, causing countless investors to “sigh”. We can say that the SJC gold price is currently developing in the style of “one market, one price”.