People rush to buy gold as prices rise to historic levels

Saigon Jewelry Company gold bullion price shot up 2.6% to a new all-time high of VND91.8 million ($3,609.6) per tael Friday morning after reaching a record VND89.5 million Thursday afternoon.

At around 4 p.m. Thursday, people queued up outside gold stores across Hanoi despite rains.

A store on Cau Giay Street even had to stop accepting walk-in customers, only serving those who had already fixed an appointment.

People patiently waited in line for their turn to buy. Hoa, 62, said she withdrew all her savings to buy gold as prices are rising while deposit interest rates are low.

"Seeing the State Bank of Vietnam auctioning gold at a floor price of over VND86 million, I and many people believe prices will continue to rise."

Customers waiting to buy gold at a store on Hanoi's Cau Giay Street on the afternoon of May 9, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Son

Most customers in the store echoed the same sentiment.

"I fear that if I do not buy now, I will miss out if prices increase tomorrow," Thuy Hien, an office worker who got off work early to buy gold at the Cau Giay store, said.

Across the street, PNJ had sold out bullion and 24K gold rings.

At another store on Xa Dan Street, employees notified customers that if they wanted to buy more than 10 taels of bullion, they had to place orders in advance and wait at least a week as supply was limited.

In HCMC, a Saigon Jewelry Company store on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street was crowded with buyers.

Customers waiting to buy 24K gold rings at a SJC store on HCMC's Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street on May 9, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Trang

Due to the huge demand, SJC had to limit purchases to three taels per person per day.

A man who was buying gold rings said the precious metal is a great investment as savings and other asset classes are less appealing at the moment. Gold prices have increased by 15-22% this year, outperforming even stocks, he said.

He expected the price uptrend to persist, given the huge demand for the metal.

Domestic bullion prices are currently VND18.5 million per tael higher than global prices.

Since the central bank began auctioning bullion on April 23 to narrow the gap, the precious metal has seen prices skyrocket.

The central bank held a second successful auction Wednesday, selling 3,400 taels of bullion at VND86.05 million per tael. So far it has sold 6,800 taels. Analysts said the central bank needs to sell bullion at lower than domestic prices.

"Setting high auction floor prices will only prompt people to speculate on gold, making it even more challenging [for the central bank] to bring [domestic] prices down," an analyst told VnExpress.