Government urged to close gap between domestic and global gold prices

At the opening session on Monday, Le Thi Nga, chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Judicial Affairs, said that the Government has taken measures to manage the gold market while the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has also held several gold auctions, but prices are still shooting up. Thus, strict management of and state intervention in this market are required.

For her part, Nguyen Thi Thanh, head of the NA Standing Committee’s board for deputies’ affairs, said it is necessary to thoroughly analyse the situation and devise solutions to such problems as private investment staying low but the money flow into gold rising.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man said surging gold prices may lead to higher import expenses, material prices, and interest rates of businesses’ foreign borrowings, subsequently adversely impacting the domestic market.

He asked the government to take flexible and timely measures to balance the targets of growth promotion and inflation control in the face of fluctuations in the domestic gold market. It needs to quickly and comprehensively review results of the market management measures implemented so far and narrow the wide gap.

Saigon Jewelry Company gold bar on Friday reached a new historic peak of VND92.4 million ($3,629.51) per tael (a tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces). The precious metal had risen 25% from the beginning of the year to May 10.

On Tuesday, gold prices dropped to VND89 million ($3,496.37) per tael.