The price of gold bullion produced by Saigon Jewelry Co, Vietnam’s biggest authorized gold trader/refiner, on Friday morning slipped VND340,000 a tael day on day to VND41.55 million a tael and VND41.7 million a tael for bid and ask, respectively.

The bid and ask prices of SJC gold bullions in Ho Chi Minh City followed SJC’s official quotation, while the respective prices in Hanoi were at VND41.5 million a tael and VND41.72 million a teal.

Compared to last week, the precious metal has fallen about VND600,000 per tael.

Regarding non-SJC gold bullion, Rong Vang Thang Long gold bullion refined by the Hanoi-based Bao Tin Minh Chau Co were traded at VND40.65 million a tael and VND40.95 million a tael for bid and ask, respectively.

PNJ gold bullion produced by the HCMC-based Phu Nhuan Jewelry Co were traded at VND41.5 million a tael and VND41.59 million a tael for bid and ask respectively.

Meanwhile, in the US market, spot gold as quoted by Kitco.com was at $1,568.3 an ounce.

With Vietcombank’s official exchange rate, the world gold price was at VND39.6 million a tael, down more than VND800,000 a tael compared to the previous session. The local gold price was VND2.1 million a tael higher than its world counterpart.

Vietnam’s central bank continued to quote the U.S dollar exchange rate at VND20,828 on Friday, unchanged for nearly 6 months, the longest stretch since it has been applied, but also the highest one.

The forex rates between the US dollar and teh Vietnam dong in both the official and free markets have fluctuated in recent days, but in a small range while the midpoint rate set by the central bank is still firm.

In the US market, gold has dropped to $1,565 an ounce after the release of disappointing US economic data.

Gold has declined 2.5 percent in the concurrent session due to concern over the global economic downturn and frustration about the minor economic stimulus package of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

On the Comex floor, gold for August delivery plummeted $50.2 an ounce to $1,565.6 an ounce. But the trading volume surged to an equivalent of a 1-month average.

At 6:50 am (local time), the spot gold price stood at $1,568.30 an ounce, down about $33 an ounce compared with the previous session.
Silver slipped 4.3 percent to $26.9 an ounce.

Precious metals recorded the biggest drop since version February 29, 2012 due to a massive selloff launched by investors worldwide after the U.S. Fed announced another round of bond-swap programs, known as “Operation Twist,” instead of a new round of bond purchases, or quantitative easing (QE).

Prices of precious metals retreated along with declining oil prices. Crude oil in New York for the first time in eight months dropped below $80 a barrel, and London Brent oil also fell below $90 a barrel.

According to data recently published by Markit, the index of production (PMI) in June for the US was the lowest since July 2011, showing that US production growth continues to falter.

US manufacturers said that this month their export orders have dropped to the second worst level September 2009.