24k gold rings sold out in Hanoi, HCMC as prices hit record highs

At 4 p.m. Tuesday major jewelry chains such as Mi Hong, DOJI and PNJ in HCMC reported they were out of 24K rings, and customers had to leave empty-handed.

DOJI and PNJ staff said they only had lower quality gold rings available. A Mi Hong employee said the 24k rings were sold out soon after opening.

On Wednesday morning, gold ring price went up 1.8% to VND76.5 ($3,065) million per tael. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.

On Tuesday their prices had jumped to a record VND77 million ($3,086) per tael while gold bullion rates rose to VND84.7 million per tael, a new peak.

People flocked to buy gold, expecting the uptrend to continue. 24K gold rings are similar in quality to gold bars but cheaper.

Because of the high demand, some Mi Hong stores limited each customer to two rings and five bars.

A Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) store in District 3 also limited customers to five rings each.

In Hanoi, a DOJI store in Cau Giay District had only a few rings left at 6 p.m, and another in Dong Da District also said it had limited stocks.

"We have a shortage of gold across the chain," an employee said.

Jewelry shops have been struggling to source gold to make rings and other jewel as the government restricts its imports.

Huynh Trung Khanh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Gold Traders Association, said recent police busts of gold smuggling have raised red flags for big jewelry chains, who are afraid of accidentally buying smuggled gold.

His association had proposed to the State Bank of Vietnam last year to permit SJC, DOJI and PNJ to buy 500 kilograms of gold to make jewelry, but has yet to receive approval, he added.