Gold prices slip $5 each tael in the local market on August 11. — Photo vtc.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) —Gold prices fell by VND100,000 or US$5 per tael in the local market on August 11 from last week's rate while prices in the world market also edged down.

In Ha Noi, each tael of state-owned SJC gold was listed at VND36.57 million ($1,746) per tael at the Doji Gold and Gems Group.

Meanwhile, on the global gold trading floor Kitco.com, the price of gold fell by $3.5 per ounce and was listed at $1,305.9 per ounce or $1,573.2 per tael.

According to reuters.com, gold slipped further from a three-week high on Monday as investors eyed firmer equity markets and outflows from the world's top bullion fund, but held above $1,300 an ounce on concern over issues in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Thus, each tael of gold in Viet Nam was $173 higher than in the world market.

On the same day, gafin.vn quoted Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Viet Nam's branch in HCM City as saying that to date gold loans remained at 90,000 taels in the city. It was reduced from the loans of over 157,000 taels last month.

Last year, to prevent the "goldenisation" or reversion-to-gold in the local market, the central bank asked all commercial banks to close their gold positions by June of 2013. However, some banks could not yet fulfil the task because long-term gold loans they signed with customers.

Bankers in the country's largest gold market of HCM City said some customers did not want to convert their loans in gold to loans in currency because gold loans had lower interest rates than currency loans.

Also on August 11, most commercial banks such as Vietcombank, BIDV and VietinBank and ACB reduced their US dollar rate by VND 5 to VND10 each. Accordingly, the buying rate of the US dollar was listed VND21,180 and the selling was set VND21,230. In the flea market, the US dollar's buying and selling rates were VND21,200 and VND21,220 respectively.

On its website sbv.gov.vn, the central bank kept the US dollar's exchange rate at VND21,246, unchanged from its new rate since June 19. The central bank also set the ceiling on the dollar rate at VND21,458.5, which commercial banks were allowed to apply as an effective exchange rate with 1 per cent margin.— VNS