Gold falls below VND44 million a tael

Sacombank Jewelry Company bought gold at VND43.5 million and sold at VND43.8 million as of 10:25am Vietnamese time.

Saigon Jewelry Company, the biggest gold processor and trader in Vietnam, collected the metal at VND43.53 million and sold at VND43.83 million as of 10:44am Vietnamese time.

Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry Company purchased SJC-brand gold at VND43.73 million and sold at VND43.93 million as of 11:08am Vietnamese time.

Meanwhile, Bao Tin Minh Chau Jewelry Company quoted prices at VND42.5 million for buying, and VND42.8 million for selling at 12:49pm Vietnamese time.

Domestically, gold still fetched VND1.9 million a tael, higher than global price.

Dollars were bought at VND20,980 per dollar, and sold at VND21,020 per dollar, a decrease of VND20 per dollar in buying price, and VND40 per dollar in selling price over the previous day.

While the State Bank of Vietnam continued to keep the interbank exchange rate at VND20,828 per dollar, several commercial banks reduced their quoted price drastically.

Vietcombank bought the greenback at VND20,870 per dollar, and sold at VND20,970, down VND160 per dollar in buying price, and VND66 per dollar in selling price over the previous day.

The demand for Vietnamese dong rose strongly ahead of lunar New Year, whereas the demand for US dollar dropped. Meanwhile, overseas national currency exchange transferred to Vietnam was huge, a representative of a foreign currency exchange agency explained a sudden drop in the dollar exchange rate.

Internationally, gold rallied with riskier assets as data from China, Germany and the United States soothed anxiety over the global economy and fueled bets on equities, commodities and the euro.

Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $8.8 an ounce, or 0.5 per cent, to close at $1,652.6 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

However, the excitement is not expected to last long as the eurozone debt crisis remains a major concern for the markets with Greece resuming talks over a debt swap deal with its creditor banks and Portugal testing investor appetite with a debt auction.

In Asia, the metal faintly changed this morning. Spot gold rose $1.9 an ounce to trade at $1,654.5 an ounce at 11am Vietnamese time. Earlier, the metal slid slightly.