Gold bars sold out in Hanoi, HCMC as prices skyrocket

"We are sorry but our store has run out of gold bars and pure gold rings," an employee of a Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) store in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District told Duy Anh, a buyer.

All other stores that Anh called responded the same way. They did not say whether there would be more supply on Saturday.

SJC 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 has risen 25% since the beginning of the year.

Several stores in Cau Giay District declined to receive customers who wanted to buy gold bars or pure gold rings as they have run out of stock.

On Tran Nhan Tong Street in Hai Ba Trung District, a popular destination for gold buyers, some stores accept pre-purchases, which means that customers pay now and receive the bars in the next two to four weeks, regardless of price changes.

Some stores limit each customer to buy five taels, but only let the customer leave with one tael and promise to deliver the remaining four in the next two weeks.

The wait time at other stores go up to six weeks.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the headquarters of the state-owned brand SJC on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Road in District 3 was packed with customers who were each limited to three taels maximum.

Some customers said they have been coming every day for the last several days to buy all the amount they need.

Customers wait to pay for their purchases at a SJC store in Ho Chi Minh City on May 10, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

Stores of Phu Nhuan Jewelry and DOJI also said they did not have enough bars to sell.

Mi Hong jewelry chain ran out of gold bars at noon.

At VND92.4 million per tael Vietnam gold price is now almost 28% higher than the global rate.

The State Bank of Vietnam has been hosting auctions to sell gold bars to business to increase supply in the market, but the high starting prices make businesses reluctant to bid, industry insiders say.

This created a reverse effect on the market as it makes people want to keep gold even more, sending prices up, said an analyst who asked not be identified.

So far businesses have only bought 8% of the total amount of gold that the central bank offered to sell in its auctions.

The government has ordered the central bank to make timely decision to keep a tight control over the gold market and reduce the gap between domestic and global rates.