Gold stands near VND37.9 million

Saigon Jewelry Company bought the metal at VND37.8 million and sold at VND37.86 million as of 8 am local time.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry bought SJC-brand gold at VND37.8 million and sold at VND37.88 million at the same time.

Domestically, gold fetched around VND250,000 a tael lower than global price.

The dollar exchange rate against the Vietnamese dong at commercial banks strongly rebounded this morning. State-owned Vietcombank bought the greenback at VND20,570 and sold at VND20,670, an increase of VND20 per dollar in buying price and VND50 per dollar in selling price.

Meanwhile, the interbank exchange rate remained at VND20,613 per dollar.

Internationally, gold surged the third day as the European Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 basis points to 1.5 percent, signaling concern over inflation although the region’s sovereign-debt turmoil has not been solved yet.

However, the rising momentum weakens as investors are waiting for data about the US unemployment rate in June.

Holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange traded fund backed by bullion, remained at 1,205.8 metric tons for several trading sessions despite a rising trend in gold price.

Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $3.3 an ounce, or 0.2 percent, to close at $1,533.7 an ounce on the Comex in New York, the highest level in the past two weeks.

In Asia, the metal declined as investors sold gold to book profits. Spot gold slid $2.2 an ounce over the closing price in New York to trade at $1,531.5 an ounce as of 8 am Vietnamese time.

The euro exchange rate against the US dollar was at nearly $1.44 a euro in Tokyo this morning.

Crude oil futures for August delivery rose as much as $2.02 a barrel, or 2.1 percent, to close at $98.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

This morning, crude oil traded at $98.65 a barrel as of 8:15 am Vietnamese time.