Rush to buy gold when price hits peak

On May 9, the price of gold bars increased by 2 million VND and set a record of 89.5 million.

In Hanoi, At 4 p.m., many stores were packed with customers waiting, despite the pouring rain. "Do you have an appointment? If you come to buy gold, come back tomorrow, the store is out of stock," a security guard at a large store on Cau Giay Street (Hanoi) told a customer who came in the rain to buy.

Inside the store, a long line of people sat waiting their turn, overflowing the aisles. Ms. Hoa, 62, said she came to buy because "she saw the price was going up." She had little savings and low interest rates in the bank, so she withdrew it to buy gold.

"People say we shouldn't buy when the price increases, but a few days ago the State Bank bid for more than 86 million VND per tael, I think the price will go up," she said.

Ms. Hoa's thoughts are also the common psychology of many customers. "The price is getting hotter and hotter, I'm afraid that if I don't buy now, it will increase tomorrow," said Thuy Hien, an office worker in Cau Giay. Hien asked for leave from work to buy gold at 3 p.m. She said she felt "lucky" because she could wait, if she was just a few minutes late she would have to go home.

Across the street, a PNJ store also announced that it was out of 24K gold bars and plain rings. "The store only has a few pieces of jewelry left. To buy this type of jewelry, customers have to pay an additional 150,000 VND for the manufacturing fee," said an employee.

On Xa Dan Street (Hanoi), a store employee said that customers must order in advance if they want to buy a large quantity of more than 10 taels and wait a week or half a month because "there is a shortage of goods".

In Ho Chi Minh City,The headquarters of Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street (District 3), is crowded with customers waiting to buy and sell.

Gold bar trading, according to staff, has been bustling in recent days, including both buying and selling. According to the reporter's records This afternoon, buyers overwhelmed sellers.

Demand skyrocketed, starting May 9, SJC limited each person to a maximum of 3 taels of gold bars per day. "Each person can only buy 3 taels, no buying for others. If you want to buy more, you have to wait until the next day," the staff announced.

An elderly female customer waiting to buy a plain ring complained that she did not understand how the State Bank bid for the price that businesses paid for it was over VND86 million. "They buy in large quantities and have to pay that price, so how can the price come down soon?", she said.

At SJC, there were fewer customers buying gold bars than people lining up to buy 24K plain rings. Explaining why he put money into plain rings, a middle-aged male customer believed that the precious metal would increase as interest rates continued to be low and other investment channels became less attractive.

Since the beginning of the year, gold has returned 15-22%, the best among investment channels such as stocks, savings or bonds.

"Now that I have money, where else can I put it but gold?", this person said. Besides, from observing the transaction volume and being interested in gold, he believes that the precious metal fever will last, and the price cannot decrease immediately.

The price of SJC gold bars closed today at a record level of 89.5 million VND. This level is 18.5 million VND per tael higher than the world price.

Since the State Bank first called for bids on April 23, this commodity has been in a "one-man market" situation, continuously increasing faster than the international market. The goal of bidding to increase the supply of gold bars to reduce the price gap with the world is facing challenges in the short term.

Yesterday, in the 5th bidding session, the State Bank successfully bid for 3,400 taels of SJC gold bars to 3 units at a price of 86.05 million VND per tael and sold 13,400 taels.

Contrary to expectations of cooling down precious metals through bidding, prices have increased and trading has been active in recent days.

According to experts, to reduce the gap with international prices, operators need to sell at prices close to or lower than domestic prices. "The State Bank's auction at such a high price further stimulates people's hoarding mentality, making the goal of getting closer to the world difficult to achieve," an expert said.