Gold prices slumped in the Vietnamese market on Tuesday morning. On the Ha Noi market, selling price of one tael, or 1.205 ounces, of State-owned SJC’s gold declined by VND190,000 (US$8.3) to VND36.75 million.

On the buying side, the price of each tael also fell VND160,000, trading at VND36.53 million.

In the southern cities of HCM and Can Tho and central Da Nang City, one tael of SJC’s gold declined VND250,000 during selling, trading at VND36.73 million. Meanwhile, one tael was being bought at VND36.53 million.

Bao Tin Minh Chau Gold Jewellery Company and Doji Gold and Jewellery Corporation (DOJI) listed their selling prices at VND36.68 million and VND36.70 million, respectively. Buying rates of their gold were listed at VND36.62 million and VND36.60 million, respectively.

On the Asian market, gold is trading at some $1,325 per ounce, equivalent to VND36.36 million per tael.

On global gold trading website Kitco.com, the price of gold slipped 1.2 per cent per ounce to end at $1,330.24 per ounce, the largest drop since July 3. Last Friday, global gold price hit a yearly peak of $1,357.54 per ounce.

Thus, the price of one tael of gold in Viet Nam is some VND410,000 higher than that on the world market.

Global gold prices declined due to an upward trend in the dollar rate following an uptick in risk appetite fuelled by relief that North Korea did not test-fire missiles or conduct nuclear tests over the weekend as some had feared, Reuters reported.

Assets traded primarily in dollars, such as gold, are very sensitive to currency fluctuations. An increase in the dollar rate will lead to gold becoming more expensive compared with other currencies and the demand for gold also decreases, the website said.

Meanwhile, the worst-case scenario due to Hurricane Irma’s impact, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, looked to have been avoided, easing concerns of investors about the negative impact of the storm on the US economy. — VNS