Mar 29: Vietnam Gold Tumbles to One-Month Low, Dong Gains

Local gold on March 29 fell to the one-month low of VND36.57million/tael while global gold edged down 0.1% to $1,417.71 an ounce. Meanwhile, the dong gained VND5 per dollar in the official market.

As of 1: 40 p.m. Hanoi time, Sacombank-SBJ gold as listed at VND36.51million/tael and VND36.57million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

Bid and ask of Thang Long gold bullion, a product of Bao Tin Minh Chau were listed at VND36.47million/tael and VND36.59million/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

SJC in Hanoi was listed at VND36.5million/tael and VND36.59million/tael for bid and ask, respectively, meanwhile, SJC in HCMC was listed at VND36.5million/tael and VND36.57milllion/tael for bid and ask, respectively.

In Asian trade this morning, spot gold edged down 0.1% to $1,417.71 an ounce. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.1% to $1,418.40.

“Gold should stay range bound between $1,410 and $1,440, with focus shifting to currencies,” said a Singapore-based trader, adding that physical demand would emerge if prices dropped below $1,410.

Investors are still watching the ongoing Middle East crisis, as oil prices eased after Libyan rebels pressed forward against embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi.

“If Libya’s situation stabilized, it would ease the fear on future inflation and dampen sentiment in gold,” said Li Ning, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures.

“There is not much to trade on,” said a Tokyo-based trader, “but we are likely to see big moves in the markets following the U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday night, which will likely give a clear direction to the market.”

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, extended their decline to a three-week low of 1,211.836 metric tons by March 28.

The ETF’s holdings are headed for the biggest quarterly drop since the fund was established in November 2004, and a third straight quarter of falls.

In local official forex market, the dong gained VND5 per dollar as the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) strengthened reference rate to VND20,688 per dollar, according to the central bank’s data.

The dong was traded at VND20,890 and VND20,895 per dollar for bid and ask, respectively at Vietcombank. – Stoxplus.com

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