Gold market gloomy at year end 

Price of gold in Vietnam fell by VND200,000 a tael (1.2 ounces) over the previous day on December 27 as global prices slumped after investors left for the holidays.

Sacombank Jewelry Company bought gold at VND42.9 million and sold at VND43.3 million as of 9:05am Vietnamese time.

Saigon Jewelry Company, the biggest gold processing and trading company in Vietnam, collected gold at VND42.95 million and sold at VND43.35 million as of 7:59am Vietnamese time.

Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewelry Company purchased SJC-brand gold at VND43.15 million and sold at VND43.45 million at 11:59am Vietnamese time.

Meanwhile, Bao Tin Minh Chau Jewelry Company quoted the price at VND42.1 million for buying, and VND42.4 million for selling at 12:21pm Vietnamese time.

Jewelers said trading on bullion market was subdued recently. Buying remained the main tendency on the market, however, trading volume dropped strongly over previous weeks.

SJC said that the company sold nearly 2,000 taels of gold yesterday, while trading volume at SBJ only reached around 500 taels.

On black market, dollar exchange rate continued to decline. One dollar was bought at VND21,230, and sold at VND21,260, down VND10 per dollar in buying price, and VND20 per dollar in selling price over the previous day.

Internationally, gold dropped in thin trade as investors stayed on the sidelines during the year-end holiday season watching for developments in the eurozone debt crisis.

Gold for immediate delivery was traded at $1,594.1 an ounce, down nearly $14 an ounce at 10:25am Vietnamese time.

The euro exchange rate against the US dollar was at nearly $1.31 as recent positive economic data backed the greenback.

Investors will look for more signs of recovery in the world's largest economy from data this week, including US consumer confidence for December due later in the day. Market participants are also watching Italy's last bond auctions of the year later this week, after the 10-year Italian bond yield broke above 7 percent, seen as an unsustainably high level.

Thuy Doan

sggp 

>   Domestic gold prices down by VND200,000/tael (12/06/2012)

>   Gold stalls at year end  (26/12/2011)

>   Interbank exchange rate climbs VND15 per dollar  (26/12/2011)

>   National Assembly's report predicts continued dong depreciation (26/12/2011)

>   Gold treads water (23/12/2011)

>   Gold market stabilization program fails (23/12/2011)

>   Gold, dollar slide (22/12/2011)

>   Local gold narrows gap with global price  (21/12/2011)

>   Gold remains below VND44 million (20/12/2011)

>   Gold sinks below VND44 million  (19/12/2011)