Gold and dollar decline

The price of gold in Vietnam slightly fell by VND100,000 a tael (1.2 ounces) over the previous day on December 21 though global prices advanced in both trading sessions in the US and in Asia.

Most gold shops bought the metal at VND35.85 million and sold around VND35.95 million as of 9 am local time.

Sacombank Jewelery Company bought gold at VND35.86 million and sold at VND35.92 million.

Meanwhile, Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry purchased SJC-brand gold at VND35.86 million and sold at VND35.96 million.

Gold was contained around VND36 million a tael as buying demand weakened. In addition, the US dollar exchange rate on free market no longer strongly escalated. Dollars, which started to sink last afternoon, were bought at VND21,080 and sold at VND21,120 this morning, down VND60 per dollar over the previous day.

Internationally, gold advanced as concerns over a spreading European sovereign-debt crisis and escalating tensions on Korean peninsula spurred the demand for the precious metal as a store of value.

Gold for immediate delivery climbed as much as $10.3 an ounce, or 0.8 percent, to close at $1,386.8 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

In Asia, gold kept rising this morning. Spot gold was trading at $1,388 an ounce as of 9:55 am Vietnamese time.

However, a strengthening US dollar remained a barrier to the metal’s advances. The euro exchange rate against the greenback stayed below $1.32 a euro in Tokyo this morning.

Crude oil futures for January settlement rose as much as $0.79 a barrel to close at $88.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

This morning, crude oil surged to trade around $88.9 a barrel.

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