Jan 24: Vietnam gold rebounds to VND35.46Mln/tael, Dollar flat

Local gold prices on January 24 rebounded to VND35.46million/tael, up VND130,000 from last close as global gold prices rose after falling for two consecutive days. Meanwhile, dollar prices stayed flat at VND21,050 in the free market.

At 1:58p.m., Sacombank-SBJ in Ho Chi Minh was listed at VND35.35million/tael and VND35.41million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

Bid and ask of Thang Long gold bullion, a product of Bao Tin Minh Chau were listed at VND35.37million/tael and VND35.46million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

SJC in Hanoi was listed at VND35.35million/tael and VND35.43million/tael for bid and ask, respectively. Meanwhile, SJC in HCMC was listed at VND35.35million/tael and VND35.41milllion/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

In Asian trade this morning, spot gold rose by 0.7% to $1,351.04 an ounce by 0306 GMT, after dropping to a two-month low of $1,337.5 on Friday.U.S. gold futures gained 0.7% to $1,350.7.

But a bearish target at $1,322 per ounce is unchanged for spot gold, as a downtrend is steady and expected to continue, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped 1.6% to 1,271.769 tones. It was the first rise in about two weeks, and biggest rise in more than seven months.

The holdings increase signals return of interest from some investors, who saw the $1,340 level a solid support and expected gold prices to further rise in an improving economy.

The improved economic outlook over the past weeks has dimmed gold’s appeal as safe-haven investment, but concerns about inflation may continue to support, analysts said.

“The market is watching the risk appetite revolving around the euro. With that risk appetite increasing, that takes away some of the safe-haven support in gold,” said Mark Pervan, an ANZ analyst.

“But that’s passing to some degree, once the support from European data has sort of been processed. The market is now swinging back to looking at the slightly weak U.S. dollar and that might spur some support.”

“You’ve got the old usual factors, such as inflation, which is globally going up. We are at the beginning of a recovery, what will happen if the recovery is in full swing?” said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia.

In the global market, the dollar index hovered near its two-month low hit on Friday.

In the local market, dollar prices were quoted at VND20,980 and VND21,050 for bid and ask, up VND30 in the free market. Meanwhile, those at Vietcombank were capped at VND19,495 and VND19,500 for bid and ask, respectively. – Stoxplus.com

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