Vietnam gold sales plunge by half

It included 2.4 tons of gold bars and coins, and 900 kg of jewelry, the lowest rate since 2000, according to a report by the World Gold Council.

All jewelry outlets in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta were closed for much of the quarter, it said.

Though online purchase of jewelry is growing, there is still a preference for buying at a shop, and these places account for 60 percent of the country’s retail sales network, it said.

The muted economic sentiment also had an impact, the WGC said, pointing to Vietnam’s first economic contraction in three decades and rising inflation and unemployment, which led to a decrease in discretionary spending.

"We expect demand to pick up in Q4 as all major gold outlets reopened on Oct.1 ahead of the coming wedding season and year-end festivities."

Globally, gold demand in the third quarter fell 7 percent year-on-year to 831 tons.