Gold rises above VND42 million

Saigon Jewelry Company, Vietnam’s biggest gold processer and trader, bought the metal at VND41.94 million and sold at VND42.09 million as of 10.45am Vietnamese time.

Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry purchased SJC-brand gold at VND42 million and sold at VND42.08 million at 9.30am Vietnamese time.

Bao Tin Minh Chau Jewelry Company quoted price at VND40.45 million for buying, and at VND40.75 million for selling at 12.30pm Vietnamese time.

Domestically, gold fetched more than VND1.6 million a tael higher than global price.

On free market, the US dollar was bought at VND20,870 per dollar, and sold at VND20,890 per dollar, an increase of VND10 per dollar over last weekend.

Meanwhile, Vietcombank quoted rate at VND20,845 per dollar for buying, and at VND20,875 per dollar for selling, down VND5 per dollar in selling price from last weekend.

Eximbank purchased dollars at VND20,820 per dollar, and sold at VND20,880 per dollar, unchanged as of last Friday.

Internationally, a better-than-forecast job data boosted appeal of risk assets, weakening the US dollar which benefited gold.

Job data released by the US Labor Department showed that private sector added 163,000 new jobs, the strongest growth in the past five months. However, as jobless rate rose to 8.3 percent in July from 8.2 percent in June, some observers continued to expect the US Federal Reserve to launch another round of quantitative easing to prop up a faltering economy.

In Asia, gold for immediate delivery surged $2.3 an ounce to trade at $1,606.9 an ounce at 9.20am Vietnamese time.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, fell to a one-month low. Euro exchange rate against the US dollar was above $1.24 a Euro in Tokyo this morning.

Crude oil futures for September delivery slid $0.18 a barrel to trade at $91.22 a barrel at 9.30am Vietnamese time.