Gold price hits record high, Nghe An market is quiet
While the world and domestic gold prices continuously broke records, reaching unprecedented highs, in Nghe An, the gold market was quite quiet. Buying and selling transactions were small and moderate. Notably, while the gold price skyrocketed, many people began to shift to investing in silver - a newly emerging storage channel recently.
The market is quiet
On the morning of October 16, domestic gold prices continued to "rise" when businesses and commercial banks simultaneously adjusted prices up sharply. Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) listed the price of gold bars at 146.6 million VND/tael for buying and 148.6 million VND/tael for selling, an increase of 1.3 million VND/tael compared to the previous day. In just one week, each tael of SJC gold bar increased by more than 6 million VND.
99.99% gold rings and jewelry gold also increased accordingly, currently fluctuating around 144.9 - 147.1 million VND/tael. Particularly at Bao Tin Minh Chau, 9999 gold is up to 152.3 million VND/tael, higher than SJC gold bars.
Domestic gold prices have been climbing due to the influence of the international market. On the morning of October 16, the spot price exceeded 4,230 USD/ounce, an increase of more than 200 USD/ounce in one week.
However, in Nghe An, in contrast to that record increase, the market is still quite quiet... Accordingly, on the morning of October 16, in Nghe An, gold shops also adjusted prices to increase according to the general trend, listing 15.0 - 15.1 million VND/tael for buying and 15.3 - 15.5 million VND/tael for selling. However, in contrast to the strong increase in prices, the market is quite quiet.
According to some large gold and silver stores in Vinh City such as SJC, PNJ, DOJI, the number of customers coming to trade has not increased significantly. Notably, the big brands have almost no gold rings and gold bars to sell, only trading gold jewelry.
Ms. Nguyen Phan Huong Phuong (Truong Vinh ward) shared: “I have some spare money and want to invest in gold to make a profit, but everywhere I go, they say they are out of stock. At private stores, the difference between buying and selling prices is high, so I don’t dare to spend money. Gold is increasing every hour, I’m afraid that if I “chase the peak”, I will lose my capital.”
Employees at the DOJI gold store on Nguyen Van Cu Street said that there is currently no supply of goods to sell due to high prices and few sellers. In the same situation, other stores such as AJC (Cao Thang), SJC (Nguyen Van Cu) are all "out of stock" of gold bars, only jewelry gold left to trade.
Meanwhile, at private gold shops, the supply of 9999 gold rings is still abundant, but transactions are quiet. Most gold shops are very quiet, with only sporadic transactions, not as bustling as when gold prices are low. Mr. Dau Huy Hoang, owner of Huy Hoan Gold and Silver Company (Hoang Mai Ward) said: "These days, only customers buy a few taels as wedding gifts or to pay off debts. The gold price is at a record high, so few people dare to buy, and those who have gold reserves also expect the price to go up, so they don't want to sell yet."
According to shop owners, the Nghe An market has few large investors, mainly people buy gold for savings or for weddings. Therefore, when the gold price increases sharply, transactions become more quiet.
“Gold only becomes active when the price is stable or decreasing. But when it is escalating like this, everyone is afraid. Those who have money wait for the price to decrease, those who have gold keep it. Recently, the gold market has been quieter than ever,” said Nguyen Kim Anh, owner of a gold and silver shop on Tue Tinh Street.
Many people turn to silver investment
Amid the gold rush, a notable phenomenon is the trend of shifting capital to silver – a precious metal with a lower price but rapidly increasing in value. A survey on the morning of October 16 showed that the price of silver bars increased sharply, ranging from 1.78 - 2.084 million VND/tael (buy - sell), an increase of more than 50,000 VND after just one session. This is also the highest price ever.
According to gold and silver businesses, over the past month, the number of customers asking to buy silver has increased significantly, especially silver bars from 1 tael to 1 kg.
Mr. Nguyen Phu, representative of a gold and silver business on Cao Thang Street, said: “In the past, silver was mainly used for jewelry, few people bought it for investment. But now many people choose silver because it is cheaper than gold, only need a few million VND to store. We have been authorized to be a silver distributor for major brands.”
Ms. Hai Ha (Vinh Hung Ward) is one of the early converts. She shared: “In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, many people have bought silver since last year. I also researched and found that investing in silver is suitable for people with small capital. Gold price is more than 15 million VND/tael, while silver is only about 2 million VND/tael, easy to buy, good to store.”
Silver has also benefited from the global uncertainty and the sharp rise in gold prices, experts say, as it is part of the same group of precious metals. Silver also has the added benefit of industrial demand, especially in the production of semiconductor chips, clean energy and batteries. Therefore, the return on silver in some periods may exceed that of gold.
However, experts also warn that silver is not an absolutely safe investment channel. The silver market in Vietnam is still small, with low liquidity, and "surfing" buying and selling is potentially risky. Silver prices often increase rapidly but can also decrease rapidly, while the difference between buying and selling prices is quite high. Investors need to carefully consider long-term accumulation goals and avoid following the crowd mentality.
