The price of gold in Vietnam rose by VND50,000 a tael over the previous day on May 24 as global price advanced steadily amid the European sovereign-debt crisis was worsening.
Sacombank Jewelry Company bought the metal at VND37.43 million and sold at VND37.49 million as of 9:15 am local time.
Meanwhile, Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry bought SJC-brand gold at VND37.4 million and sold at VND37.51 million at the same time.
Domestically, gold fetched around VND400,000 a tael lower than global price.
After being stable for a week, the interbank US dollar exchange rate adjusted VND5 per dollar to VND20,668 from VND20,673.
State-owned Vietcombank also reduced its exchange rate, quoting the dollars at VND20,630 for buying and VND20,730 for selling.
Internationally, the inverse connection between gold and the greenback was broken as the precious metal still gained for the second day while the US dollar became stronger than the euro after negative economic news kept on fueling the public debt turmoil in Europe.
Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as $3.7 an ounce to close at $1,518.2 an ounce, the highest level in the past two weeks, on the Comex in New York.
In Asia, the precious metal slightly slid to trade at $1,518 an ounce as of 9 am Vietnamese time.
Holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange traded fund backed by bullion, rose by 7.5 metric tons to 1,209.5 metric tons, the company’s website showed.
Standard & Poor’s cut Italy’s credit-rating outlook to negative from stable, citing slow economic growth and diminished prospects for a reduction of government debt.
Fitch Ratings also lowered Belgium’s rating outlook to negative from stable due to concerns over the country’s huge budget deficit. It also cut Greece’s credit rating by three levels to B+.
The euro plunged to the lowest level in two months against the US dollar, standing at $1.4 a euro in Asia this morning.
Crude oil also made sharp correction. Crude oil futures for July settlement lost as much as $2.4 a barrel to close at $97.7 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This morning, crude oil sank to around $96.6 a barrel.