VINACHEM

HA NOI (VNS)— The gold auction yesterday drew only two buyers - Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Phu Quy Gold Investment – who purchased a total of 2,000 taels (2,400 ounces).

The winning price was the floor price given for the auction, VND43.81 million (US$2,086), according to the State Bank of Viet Nam.

Total unsold gold amounted to 24,000 taels.

Of the 21 banks and businesses registered to participate, only 17 came to the auction and 15 of those abstained from bidding.

The ceiling price for the auction was not defined, while the floor price was higher than expected – about VND400,000 ($19) higher than the opening price of gold traders yesterday and VND200,000 ($9.5) higher than the State Bank's reference on Wednesday.

Domestic gold prices surged yesterday after information about the auction leaked. Saigon Jewelry Co Ltd posted its trading price earlier yesterday morning at VND43.48 million ($2,070) per tael, but the price increased to VND43.78 million ($2,084) late in the day.

"With such a high price, I wonder how the central bank can stabilise the market," a representative of a bidding unit told the online newspaper VnExpress.net.

Director of the central bank's exchange bureau Pham Bao Lam declined to comment. — VNS