In the domestic market, the price of gold remains above 80 million dong per tael, while the price of gold nears 68 million dong per tael.
At nearly 10 am in Hanoi market, Bao Tin Minh Chau Company listed the price of round Rong Thang Long gold rings at 66.78 million dong per tael and 67.98 million dong per tael. Compared to the early morning of Saturday, the price of rings from this company has increased by 120,000 dong per tael at each price point.
Phu Quy Group listed the price of Phu Quy round gold rings at 66.7 million dong per tael and 67.9 million dong per tael, corresponding to the buying and selling prices, an increase of 200,000 dong per tael compared to Saturday morning.
Phu Quy quoted the price of SJC gold bars at 70.2 million dong per tael and 80.1 million dong per tael, a decrease of 50,000 dong per tael and 550,000 dong per tael respectively compared to Saturday morning.
In the Ho Chi Minh City market, SJC Gold Company quoted the price of SJC gold bars at 78.3 million dong per tael and 80.3 million dong per tael, with the buying price increasing by 100,000 dong per tael and the selling price decreasing by 400,000 dong per tael compared to the end of the weekend.
SJC smooth round rings have a price of 65.4 million dong per tael for buying and 66.6-66.7 million dong per tael for selling, depending on the weight of the product.
The price of gold rings continues to set new records, with an increase of about 2.5 million dong per tael from the time after the lunar new year to now. SJC gold bars also reached the highest level in history at the end of last weekend, nearing the 81 million dong per tael threshold.
The strong increase last week in the international gold price, combined with the high demand for gold purchases in the country during a shortage of domestic gold supply, are the factors pushing up the domestic gold prices to unseen levels.
After a 2.5% increase last week – marking the sharpest weekly increase since November last year – the world gold price starts a new trading week with a slight decrease. At nearly 10 am today, according to Vietnam time, the spot gold price in the Asian market decreased by 1.5 USD/oz compared to the close of the last session in the US, equivalent to a decrease of 0.07%, to 2,081.8 USD/oz.
This price is equivalent to about 62.2 million dong per tael if converted at the USD selling rate at Vietcombank.
Compared to the converted world gold price, the retail price of SJC gold bars is about 18 million dong per tael higher and the price of gold rings is 4.7-5.7 million dong per tael higher.
The driving force for the gold price increase last week was worse-than-expected data on the US economy – data that reinforced the possibility that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will begin cutting interest rates in June. Many experts believe that this week, the gold price will face a real challenge when a series of important US economic reports are released, including the overall report on employment in February.
In addition, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has a regular two-day testimony on monetary policy before the US Congress.
Adam Button, chief currency strategist at Forexlive.com, believes that the employment report will have a greater impact on the price of gold than Powell’s testimony. The expert said that a worse or better-than-expected employment report will affect the USD exchange rate more than what Powell says, thereby having a major impact on the gold price.
“We basically all know what Powell will say. He will say interest rates will decrease but not decrease soon. He might also say that the Fed will continue to monitor economic data. Meanwhile, if US job growth weakens, the upward momentum of gold will be maintained,” Button commented with Kitco News.
In addition, the European Central Bank (ECB) will meet on monetary policy this week. A strong stance from the ECB can support the euro exchange rate, reduce USD pressure, and benefit the gold price. Conversely, if the ECB signals an imminent interest rate cut, the USD may appreciate and exert downward pressure on gold prices.
Important US economic data this week includes the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) of the service sector published by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) on Tuesday, and the employment report for February published by the Department of Labor on Friday. On Wednesday, the market will follow Powell’s testimony in the House of Representatives. This will be followed by the ECB meeting and Powell’s testimony in the Senate on Thursday.
