At 10am, gold prices hovered around VND26.5-26.6 million/tael. At the Saigon Jewelry Holding Company, gold was transacted at VND25.9-26.1 million/tael at the opening and then, at 11am, it suddenly rose to VND26.33-26.48 million/tael.

In Hanoi, at 10am, the price of SJC gold at the Bao Tin Minh Chau Company stood at VND26.3-26.6 million/tael, VND650,000/tael higher than at February 10’s close. By 4pm on February 11, SJC gold was listed at VND26.2-26.45 million/tael, showing a slight decrease.

According to a representative of the Bao Tin Minh Chau Company, despite a sudden jump in gold prices, trading remained brisk. Late in the afternoon, the company bought 300 taels and sold over 700 taels.

The surprising increase in domestic gold prices is partly due to the State Bank of Vietnam’s announcement of an increase in the inter-bank exchange rate to VND18,544 per US dollar on February 11, which pushed the price of USD and gold up sharply.

Another factor is the recovery of world gold prices on February 11, which stood at US$1,078.3 per ounce, up by US$7.9 per ounce from the opening bell. On the New York market, on February 10, after escalating to a high of US$1,080 per ounce, gold prices quickly dropped to US$1,064 per ounce.