Gold, dollar steady

Sacombank Jewelry Company bought gold at VND43 million and sold at VND43.6 million as of 8:50am Vietnamese time.

Saigon Jewelry Company, the biggest gold processor and trader in Vietnam, collected gold at VND43.35 million and sold at VND43.65 million as of 10:13am Vietnamese time.

Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry Company purchased SJC-brand gold at VND43.38 million and sold at VND43.68 million at 10:05am Vietnamese time.

Meanwhile, Bao Tin Minh Chau Jewelry Company quoted the price at VND42.4 million for buying, and VND42.7 million for selling at 12:24pm Vietnamese time.

Domestically, SJC-brand gold fetched around VND2.2 million a tael, higher than global price.

Bullion market saw robust selling demand yesterday. People who bought gold when the prices dropped a few days ago rushed to sell their holdings on fear that the heavy metal would decline again. However, buying remained the main trend on the market.

On free market, the dollar exchange rate stalled at the prices of last evening. One dollar was bought at VND21,270 per dollar, and sold at VND21,310 per dollar, a decrease of VND10-20 per dollar in buying price over the previous day.

Internationally, gold advanced as concern over Iran’s nuclear program fueled oil and gold prices. Tensions between Iran and western countries escalated after the European Union reached a preliminary agreement to ban imports of oil from Iran, prompting investors to seek the metal as a safe-haven.

Meanwhile, the US economic data continued to show signs of solid growth.

Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $8.9 an ounce to close at $1,613.5 an ounce on the Comex in New York, the highest level in two and a half weeks.

In Asia, spot gold surged $3.6 an ounce to trade at $1,671.1 an ounce at 10:45am Vietnamese time.

Today, investors’ eye a French bond sale later in the day after Germany’s bond auction fared better than November on Wednesday.

Holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest exchange traded fund backed by bullion, remained unchanged at 1,245.6 metric tons for seven consecutive sessions. Meanwhile, many analysts still concerned over the possibility of a sharp drop in gold price at the beginning of this year after gold set for the 11th straight annual gain.

The euro exchange rate against the US dollar was just above $1.29 a euro in Tokyo this morning.