Gold prices treaded water in Vietnam on January 12 as global prices remained around US$1,150 an ounce.
The metal was bought at VND27.1 million and sold at below VND27.2 million at most gold shops.
Gold traders continued to keep the gap between selling and buying prices low to boost trading.
In recent days, as the VND27 million mark returned, investors increased selling, creating a balance in buying and selling volumes on the market.
Nguyen Thi Cuc, deputy general director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry, said her company bought 1,590 taels and sold 1,760 taels yesterday. Buying volume significantly improved compared to the period before the New Year when the company bought just hundreds of taels a day.
Selling volume was generated mostly from customers who bought gold before the New Year and sold to take profits as prices rose. Meanwhile, bull speculators continued to buy, she said.
Buying activity, however, began to drop as high prices made investors more cautious.
Globally, spot gold surged $13 an ounce, 1.1 percent, to close at $1,151.7 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In Asia, the metal fluctuated at around $1,151-1,152 an ounce this morning.
The greenback’s debasement was still the main impulsion for the precious metal. A faster recovery of Asian economies than the US attracted cash flow from the US bonds and currency to the newly developed stock markets, posing more pressure on the currency.
Speculation that the US government would continue to maintain measures to spur recovery in its economy also eroded investors’ appetite for the greenback.
Crude oil fell as forecasts said the US would enjoy warm weather in the coming days, decreasing the demand for heat energy.
Crude oil futures for February settlement slid 23 cents, 0.3 percent, to $82.52 a barrel in New York.
In Asia, crude oil dropped to around $82 a barrel this morning.
