Jan 28: Vietnam gold plunges to VND35.1Mln/tael, Dollar flat

Local gold prices on January 28 plunged to VND35.1million/tael, down over VND300,000 from yesterday as global gold hit the four-month low of $1,308 an ounce. Meanwhile, dollar prices held steady at VND21,000 in the free market.

At 2 p.m., Sacombank-SBJ in Ho Chi Minh was listed at VND35.04million/tael and VND35.07 million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

Bid and ask of Thang Long gold bullion, a product of Bao Tin Minh Chau were listed at VND34.98million/tael and VND35.1million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

SJC in Hanoi was listed at VND34.99million/tael and VND35.06million/tael for bid and ask, respectively. Meanwhile, SJC in HCMC was listed at VND34.99million/tael and VND35.06milllion/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

In Asian trade this morning, gold fell to a four-month low on Friday, as an improved economic outlook in the U.S. and Europe continued to depress safe-haven demand, but physical buying is expected to lend some support.

Spot gold fell to a low of $1,308 an ounce, and was trading at $1,312.16.

Gold is on course for a fourth straight week of declines, its longest losing streak in a year. It was headed for a 7.4 percent monthly fall, it biggest since October 2008.

U.S. gold futures fell about half a percent to $1,311.9.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to an eight-month low of 1,226.546 metric tons by Jan. 27, after a record daily outflow of 31.262 metric tones on Jan. 25.

U.S. housing and factory data on Thursday showed the economy still gaining strength in December but at a pace unlikely to cause the Federal Reserve to rethink its stimulus program.

The gross domestic product data due later today is expected to show the world’s biggest economy picking up speed but short of the pace needed to bring down unemployment.

“It does seem sentiment has been shaken and technical charts aren’t looking fantastic,” said Yingxi Yu, an analyst at Barclays Capital.

“We remain optimistic on gold prospects for the next few months, but the near-term correction could continue for quite some time. We’ve seen some speculative positions in gold being liquidated in the past few days, as well as some outflow from the ETF.”

Spot gold is expected to fall more to $1,290 per ounce, as a downtrend is intact and bearish momentum strong, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

In the local market, dollar prices were quoted at VND20,940 and VND21,000 for bid and ask, respectively. 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