Business  » Market watch

Price of gold in Vietnam hovered around VND44.8 million a tael (1.2 ounces) on February 20 as global price climbed on hopes that Greece will seal a deal on the bailout today and after China’s central bank cut the required reserve ratio.

Sacombank Jewellery Company bought gold at VND44.4 million and sold at VND44.8 million as of 7.45 am Vietnamese time.

Saigon Jewellery Company, Vietnam’s biggest gold processor and trader, collected the metal at VND44.6 million and sold at VND44.8 million as of 9.34 am Vietnamese time.

Hanoi-based Phu Quy Jewellery Company purchased SJC-brand gold at VND44.71 million and sold at VND44.81 million as of 9.49 am Vietnamese time.

Meanwhile, Bao Tin Minh Chau Jewellery Company quoted price at VND43.75 million for buying, and VND44 million for selling at 9.54 am Vietnamese time.

Domestically, gold fetched around VND1 million a tael, higher than global price.

Dollars were bought at VND20,810 per dollar, and sold at VND20,830 per dollar on free market this morning. Meanwhile, Vietcombank quoted the greenback at VND20,810 per dollar for buying, and at VND20,870 per dollar for selling, up VND10 per dollar over last weekend.

Internationally, gold advanced on optimism on a deal later in the day between Greece and eurozone finance ministers on the second rescue package for Greece. Sentiment also was buoyed after China’s central bank cut its required reserve ratio over the weekend, boosting lending capacity.

In Asia, gold for immediate delivery gained as much as $12.1 an ounce, or 0.7 per cent, to trade at $1,736.9 an ounce at 9 am Vietnamese time.

Gold futures for April settlement rose $11.2 an ounce to $1,737.1 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

Investors reduced their net long position in gold futures and options in the week of February 14 due to optimism surrounding the Greek debt crisis. However, SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange traded fund backed by bullion, bought 2.6 metric tonnes of gold, increasing its holdings to 1,281.3 metric tonnes last week.

The euro exchange rate against the US dollar rose to above $1.32 a euro in Tokyo this morning.

Crude oil futures surged 1.7 per cent to trade at $105 a barrel at 9.25 am Vietnamese time, the highest level in the past nine months.