Gold surges to seven-week high

Saigon Jewelry Company, Vietnam’s biggest gold processer and trader, bought the metal at VND42.18 million and sold at VND42.33 million as of 10.45am Vietnamese time.

Phu Nhuan Jewelry Company purchased gold at VND42.18 million and sold at VND42.28 million at 11.35am Vietnamese time.

Bao Tin Minh Chau Jewelry Company quoted price at VND40.6 million for buying, and at VND40.9 million for selling at 12.30pm Vietnamese time.

Domestically, gold fetched VND1.7 million a tael higher than global price.

Bullion market became more vibrant than previous days after the precious metal hit VND42 million a tael again. Gold traders expected that people would trade gold more today when the metal was standing at the highest level since mid-June.

On free market, the US dollar was still bought at VND20,850 per dollar, and sold at VND20,870 per dollar, a decrease of VND20 per dollar over the previous day.

Meanwhile, Vietcombank quoted the rate at VND20,840 per dollar for buying, and at VND20,870 per dollar for selling, down VND5 per dollar from a day earlier.

Eximbank continued to purchase dollars at VND20,820 per dollar, and sell at VND20,880 per dollar.

The State Bank of Vietnam continued to keep inter-bank dollar exchange rate at VND20,828 per dollar.

Internationally, gold was backed by expectations that the European Central Bank will buy short-term bonds to boost liquidity for government debt in the eurozone.

Two-year Spanish yields yesterday fell to less than half the level in late July. The majority of Wall Street dealers also expected the US Federal Reserve to launch another round of quantitative easing after September to spur economic growth.

In Asia, gold for immediate delivery dipped $1.3 an ounce to trade at $1,611.5 an ounce at 9.20am Vietnamese time.

Last night, the heavy metal gained $8 an ounce, or 0.5 percent, to close at $1,612.6 an ounce in New York.

Euro exchange rate against the US dollar remained above $1.24 a Euro in Tokyo this morning.

Crude oil futures for September delivery retreated $0.13 a barrel to trade at $92.07 a barrel at 9.30am Vietnamese time.