Vietnam’s gold prices fell further on Friday afternoon following a 1% drop earlier in the session.
Saigon Jewelry Company gold bar price slipped another 0.78% from the morning to VND153.2 million (5,817.39) per tael, bringing its loss for the day to 1.8%.
Bullion has given up nearly all its gain this year and is now just 0.26% higher than at the start of the year.
The gap between local and global bullion rates has narrowed to around VND11 million from more than VND30 million two months ago.
Gold ring price slid a further 0.78% to VND153 million per tael after earlier losing 1.03%. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.
Globally, gold was on track for a weekly decline amid uncertainty over the progress in US-Iran talks to end the conflict that has unsettled global markets.
Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,463.73 per ounce on Friday. The metal has fallen about 1.6% so far this week. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.3% to $4,491.
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A person holds gold jewelry at a store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran |
Talks appeared close to a breakthrough last week but have since lost momentum, leaving the broader conflict unresolved.
“When the Iran-U.S. negotiations don’t seem to be going in the right direction, it tends to drive up oil prices. That triggers inflation fears and increases the likelihood that interest rates will remain relatively high, pressuring gold,” said Nitesh Shah, commodity strategist at WisdomTree, as quoted by Reuters.
The metal tumbled after the war erupted in late February and has since moved within a relatively tight range. Prices were roughly 15% below the immediate pre-war level as of Friday, according to Bloomberg.
