Aug 17: Vietnam gold continues to trade premium to global market, dollar stable

Vietnam gold extended gaining streak today following suit of global rally but local prices were still VND500,000 higher than the global ones. Local banks kept dollar prices unchanged.

As of 17:30 Hanoi time, Sacombank-SBJ gold was listed at VND45.35 million/tael and VND45.45 million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

SJC in Hanoi was listed at VND45.3 million/tael and VND45.52 million/tael for bid and ask, respectively while SJC in the free market was quoted at VND44.3 million-VND45.5 million a tael for bid and ask respectively, up VND700,000 from yesterday close.

Global markets:

Gold held steady near a record high on Wednesday after a Franco-German summit failed to convince investors that the euro zone debt crisis would be solved effectively, supporting safe-haven demand for bullion.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,785.44 an ounce by 0019 GMT, after rising 1 percent in the previous session after the summit. It is just 1.6 percent below the record high above $1,813 struck last week.

U.S. gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,788.60.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel unveiled far-reaching plans for closer euro zone integration, but stopped short of increasing the bloc’s rescue fund and said joint euro bonds may be a long-term solution.

From analysts’ view

Gold is still the most appealing asset in the short run, while uncertainty over the euro zone’s future will not evaporate overnight,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said in a report.

Gold is up 26 percent this year, heading for an 11th straight annual gain, the longest winning streak since at least 1920 in London.

“It’s going to be a bullish market,” Tetsuya Yoshii, vice president for derivative products at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., said from Tokyo. “After Greece, there was Spain, France and always some new problem, and the U.S. debt problem hasn’t really been solved, so people are looking for a safe haven.”

SPDR Gold Trust Holdings Unchanged

Holdings in the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust edged up 0.2 percent from a day earlier to 1,262.899 metric tons by Aug. 16

SPDR’s holdings’ record-high was 1,320.436 tons on June 29 last year.

Dollar prices

Vietnam’s central bank set the U.S. dollar’s exchange rate at VND20,618, unchanged for 7 days.

Commercial banks kept dollar prices stable from last close. – Stoxplus.com

Tags: vietnam gold, Vietnam gold market, Vietnam gold prices