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Central bank may allow gold imports
Gold trading enterprises may be allowed to import gold if domestic prices continue to surge, says the head of the State Bank of Viet Nam's Foreign Exchange Department Nguyen Quang Huy.
The statement was made yesterday after domestic gold prices soared yesterday afternoon. One tael of gold (Equivalent to 1.2 troy ounces) costs VND33.05 million (US$1,690), a record high.
"The central bank may consider allowing dealers to import a suitable quota to stabilise market prices in line with global changes," Huy said.
He added that the sudden surge in gold prices was caused by the increase in global prices, which are now at a record high of $1,349 per ounce. Speculation and psychological worries also likely effected the inflation.
As of yesterday afternoon, the price of gold in the domestic market was VND1 million ($51.28) per tael higher than the global price.
"The imbalance between supply and demand is making gold prices ‘crazy'," said Huynh Trung Khanh, International Gold Council's senior consultant official in Viet Nam. "The supply is drying up."
In July, the State Bank allowed enterprises to import seven tonnes of gold. However, dealers said the volume was unable to meet the market's growing demand.
In August, the Viet Nam Gold Trading Association asked the central bank to allow them to import more gold bars to process, but the proposal was rejected.
The increase in the price of gold caused the US dollar's exchange rate to increase to VND19,850 yesterday from VND19,750 on Tuesday.
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