Bullion lingers around VND37.6 million

Sacombank Jewelry Company bought the metal at VND37.56 million and sold at VND37.69 million as of 7:40 am local time.

Saigon Jewelry Company, the biggest gold shop in Vietnam, purchased gold at VND37.55 million and sold at VND37.7 million at the same time.

Meanwhile, Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry bought SJC-brand gold at VND37.49 million and sold at VND37.63 million as of 10:20 am local time.

At Bao Tin Minh Chau, the metal was bought at VND37.5 million and sold at VND37.65 million.

Internationally, gold strongly rose, making a new record as a weaker US dollar boosted the demand for the precious as a store of value after data showed that weekly unemployment rate shot up and the US economy slowed more than forecast in the first quarter.

Gold futures for June delivery rose as much as $14.1 an ounce, or 0.9 per cent, to close at $1,531.2 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the metal mounted to $1,538.8 an ounce, the highest level in the history.

In Asia, the precious metal continued escalating, sometime traded at nearly $1,540 an ounce. Spot gold stood at $1,534.8 an ounce as of 10:26 am Vietnamese time.

The US economic growth reached 1.8 per cent in the first quarter, much slower than a pace of 3.1 per cent in the last quarter last year.

Meanwhile, the US Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims for the week ended on April 22 unexpectedly climbed to the highest level in the past three month.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, sank to 73.114 from 73.284 in the previous trading session.

Crude oil also surged to the highest level since September 2008. Light sweet crude oil futures for June settlement rose $0.1 a barrel, or 0.1 per cent, to close at $112.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The highest intraday price was at $113.97 a barrel.

Domestically, the interbank US exchange rate advanced the first time since the beginning of this week, gaining VND5 per dollar to VND20,698. The highest price applied at commercial bank was VND20,905. However, commercial banks continued to quote the rate down to around VND20,500.