The price of gold in Vietnam hovered below VND27 million a tael on January 18, as global prices were nearly unchanged. The metal’s debasement pressure began to appear as the euro declined on Greece’s worsening finances.
Gold was bought at above VND26.8 million and sold at VND26.85-16.9 million at most gold shops.
Gold traders, who continued to keep a low trading gap to boost trading, said the domestic market can only improve when global prices make a significant move.
An unclear direction of prices cooled the bullion market. Most customers bought gold as reserves but volume was low, they said.
Liquidity on gold exchanges continued to reduce while investors were waiting for reasonable prices to make the final settlement for their holdings. Trading volume, however, was extremely low as sellers offered high prices while buyers expected low rates.
In Asia, the metal was steady at US$1,132-1,133 an ounce this morning, an increase of $1 an ounce over the closing price in New York last weekend.
Bullion held by the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal, fell to 1,112.84 metric tons on January 15, according to the company’s website.
The dollar rose to a one-week high against the euro on concerns about Greece’s debt crisis, sending the dollar exchange rate to below $1.44 a euro in Tokyo this morning.
Crude oil prices continued to head south, losing 5.7 percent last week as the weather in the northern hemisphere began to get warmer.
Crude oil futures for February settlement fell to $77.5 a barrel in New York.
