Feb 23: Vietnam gold falls, Dollar firm, trading sluggish

Local gold prices on February 23 continued to fall down as global gold prices eased and local dollar prices stabilized.

As of 15:30 Hanoi time, Sacombank-SBJ gold as listed at VND37.56 million/tael and VND37.66 million/tael for bid and ask, respectively, down nearly VND100,000 from yesterday.

Bid and ask of Thang Long gold bullion, a product of Bao Tin Minh Chau were listed at VND37.55 million/tael and VND37.67 million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

SJC in Hanoi was listed at VND37.58 million/tael and VND37.67 million/tael for bid and ask, respectively. Meanwhile, SJC in HCMC was listed at VND37.58million/tael and VND37.65 milllion/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

Trading of gold and dollar was sluggish today on weaker physical demand on high prices.

In Euro trade this afternoon, gold hovered $1,400/ounce as bargain hunters resurfaced after prices dropped from a seven-week high, but a drop in ETF holdings could cap gain.

Spot gold was steady at $1,399.66 an ounce after falling as low as $1,395.20 an ounce and rising as high as $1,401.09. Bullion had risen to a 7-week high around $1,410 on Tuesday before slipping, partly due to declines in equities that prompted investors to sell gold to cover losses.

U.S. gold futures for April fell $4.3 to $1,396.8 an ounce.

The world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust said holdings dropped to 1,218.243 metric tones by Feb. 22, their lowest in nine months, from 1,223.098 metric tones by Feb. 20.

“There’s still bargain hunting at the lower end. This Middle East crisis won’t be easily solved in a short time. There are so many nations involved,” said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

Spot gold may revisit Tuesday’s high at $1,410.65 per ounce, as its uptrend is steady, according to Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.

“The key threat to the gold market is an increase in real interest rates. When these begin to rise, the opportunity cost of holding gold will encourage investors to sell the metal,” said BlackRock in a report.

In local money market, dollars are quoted at VND22,050 –VND 22,150 for bids and ask respectively. Dollar prices are quoted at VND20,790 and VND20,890 for bid and ask, respectively at Vietcombank

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