The State Bank advises people to be cautious because the price of gold bars will continue to decrease.

On June 4, the second day of implementing the State Bank's policy of selling gold to stabilize prices, the number of people buying gold at bank branches and SJC Company still showed no signs of decreasing.

The gap with the world is much reduced

Ms. Minh Trang in Thanh Cong (Ba Dinh - Hanoi) said she was present at the SJC Giang Van Minh branch early, where each customer is only allowed to buy a maximum of 1 tael of gold due to the limited quantity of gold.

Ms. Nguyen Kim Anh in Lang Ha also said that she had been in line since the afternoon of June 3, but it was not her turn to buy. On the morning of June 4, she went to the store hoping to get gold to take home, but when she arrived, the bank announced that there were no more reservations, and customers who had registered their information the day before were not given priority.

According to records at some bank branches, all the gold sold on June 4th was sold out in the early morning by issuing tickets but the gold could only be collected in the afternoon. Many customers came but had to return. Some customers still tried to stay at a nearby cafe and said they had waited since early morning but had not been able to buy anything.

According to the announcement of the State Bank, the selling price of SJC gold bars of the State Bank is 77.98 million VND/tael and the banks have announced to sell at 78.98 million VND/tael. The reason why the banks have reduced the selling price is because the State Bank has also reduced the selling price of gold for 4 designated banks along with SJC Company.

According to market records, the gold price immediately decreased from 500,000 VND to 1 million VND/tael. Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) reduced the buying price to 77.48 million VND, selling price to 78.98 million VND. Doji Group bought at 77.48 million VND, selling price to 78.98 million VND. Bao Tin Minh Chau Company bought at 77.5 million VND, selling price to 78.98 million VND...

At VND78.98 million, gold bars are at their lowest level since February 24, 2024. The current buying-selling difference is no more than VND1.5 million - the lowest since December 27, 2023.

At the same time, the world gold pricetraded at 2,328 USD/ounce. Converted according to Vietcombank USD exchange rate, world gold is about 72 million VND/tael (including tax and fees), about 6.5 million VND lower than gold bars, down about 1 million VND compared to the afternoon session on June 3, down 4 million VND compared to the end of last week and down more than 11 million VND compared to the afternoon of May 29 - the first day the State Bank announced the plan to sell gold to 4 state-owned banks.

The selling price is considered reasonable.

With the market selling price of 78.98 million VND/tael, the bank only left a difference of 1 million VND/tael compared to the price the State Bank sold to banks.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Deputy General Director of Agribank, said that the price that banks buy from the State Bank is the base price. On that basis, the bank will calculate and consider, based on market developments, to give a suitable price.

“It is not true that if banks buy from the State Bank at a fixed price, they will also sell at the same price, because the banks will base on the market price and price stabilization trend, and gradually adjust the price,” Ms. Phuong shared.

The Deputy General Director of Agribank added that with the amount of gold bars purchased from the State Bank, the bank will not sell them in one session but may sell them over several days. However, the price offered by the bank is always within the safe range and banks do not sell gold for profit.

“Today’s selling price is considered close to the market, also to assess the actual transaction level, on that basis the bank will gradually adjust. Basically, we see that today’s gold price meets people’s expectations,” commented the Deputy General Director of Agribank.

A representative of SJC Company said that early on June 4, the State Bank calculated the gold price according to the formula of world price multiplied by the exchange rate at Vietcombank and notified the units. Each enterprise will calculate the selling price itself, so that the difference does not exceed 1 million VND.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Dao Xuan Tuan, Director of the Foreign Exchange Management Department, State Bank of Vietnam, said that June 4 was the second day that the designated units sold SJC gold bars directly to the people according to the new plan of the State Bank. The goal of this plan is to narrow and control the gap between the domestic and international prices of SJC gold bars at an appropriate level. This plan has initially received attention and positive reviews from the public.

“The narrowing of the gap between the domestic and international prices of SJC gold bars may lead to further reductions in the gold prices of State-owned commercial banks and SJC in the coming time. Therefore, people need to be very cautious when buying gold in the context of the current volatile world gold prices,” Mr. Tuan warned.

Banking and finance expert Nguyen Tri Hieu analyzed that the demand for gold in the market may still be high because of the expectation that the world gold price will continue to increase. In addition, traditional investment channels of Vietnamese people have not improved and savings interest rates remain low.

“Currently, the State Bank’s gold selling price has dropped sharply, causing the gold price on the market to drop. Will the sales volume in the coming days repeat the out-of-stock situation? If the sales units limit it, it will create a ‘scarcity’ mentality among the people. This will then push many people to rush to buy gold, causing demand to increase suddenly,” Mr. Nguyen Tri Hieu emphasized.