HCMC – Gold and the U.S. dollar rose strongly as the market began business after a long holiday of Tet, with the precious metal approaching VND36 million per tael and the greenback almost hitting VND21,500 on the unofficial market.

Such levels showed sharp increases from the last business day before Tet, when gold was traded at some VND35.55 million per tael and the dollar hovered around VND21,000. A tael is equal to 1.2 troy ounces.

As the trading day wrapped up late on Tuesday, Saigon Jewelry Holding Company (SJC) quoted its gold price at VND35.9 million per tael, increasing VND350,000 per tael from one week ago when business closed for Tet. Meanwhile, Bao Tin Minh Chau Gold Co. in Hanoi quoted its selling price higher at VND35.97 million per tael.

A gold shop owner in An Dong Market in HCMC’s District 5 said that the transaction volume was modest as the high price discouraged buyers although the yellow metal is believed by many as bringing good luck in the new year.

The gold price in the Asian market by 4:00 pm on Tuesday was at US$1,355.4 an ounce. Given the forex rate of some VND21,400 and excluding tax and fee, the local gold price was VND1.1 million per tael higher than the global price.

Meanwhile, the dollar at one point surprisingly rose to VND21,450 after slightly falling to VND21,000 by late January. The greenback on the unofficial market traded on Tuesday morning at VND21,400 on buying and VND21,450 on selling, but it ebbed to VND21,350 on buying and VND21,400 on selling in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the dollar quoted at commercial banks was unchanged at VND19,500. Given the wide difference of up to 10% between official and unofficial markets, people are waiting for measures from the authority to narrow the gap, including the possibility of devaluing the local currency against the U.S. dollar.

The Saigon Times Daily