The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) sold 19,700 taels to 13 credit institutions on Friday at VND38.45-38.48 million ($1,831-1,832) per tael at its 57th auction.— Photo vietstock.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) —The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) sold 19,700 taels to 13 credit institutions on Friday at VND38.45-38.48 million ($1,831-1,832) per tael at its 57th auction.

The Saigon Jewellery Company (SJC) posted gold prices of 38.20-38.45 million ($1,819-1.831) on its website at 3pm today, while international gold prices declined to $1,396 per ounce, or $1,682 a tael, on the kitco.com trading floor, leaving gold prices in Viet Nam $149 per tael higher than global rates. The lowest gap was $124 on Wednesday when global gold prices climbed.

Since the first SBV gold auction in March, the bank has sold more than 58 tonnes of gold.

On Friday morning the yellow metal inched up in Asia, posting its second monthly increase.

India is considering a radical plan to direct commercial banks to buy gold from ordinary citizens and divert it to precious metal refiners in an attempt to curb imports and take some heat off the plunging currency. — VNS