Washington [US], March 7: Gold prices recorded their fourth consecutive day of decline, with recent gold buyers losing tens of millions of dong per ounce. In contrast to the trend in gold, interest rates on the Vietnamese dong are rising.
Buying gold resulted in heavy losses.
On the day of the God of Wealth (the 10th day of the Lunar New Year), Ms. Nguyen Cam (Ho Chi Minh City) went to Saigon Jewelry Company - SJC to buy 3 taels of SJC gold bars . According to Ms. Cam, it had been a long time since the company increased the quantity sold to each customer to 3 taels, so she took the opportunity to buy. At a price of 185 million VND/tael, this woman spent 555 million VND to own the gold. The joy of buying gold is now mixed with sadness as the price continues to fall. Looking back from March 2nd, gold prices increased after news of conflict in the Middle East . If she sold it at that time at 187.9 million VND per tael, she would have made a profit of 2.9 million VND, equivalent to nearly 9 million VND for 3 taels.
However, like many others who believed that political instability would strongly support a rise in gold prices, Ms. Cam resolutely held onto her gold. Unfortunately, after reaching 190.9 million VND/ounce at the beginning of the week, gold prices fell rapidly in the following days. On March 6th, each ounce of SJC gold dropped sharply by 2.2 million VND, then adjusted upwards by 1.3 million VND. The buying price of SJC gold on the market was 180.8 million VND, and the selling price was 183.8 million VND. Thus, with the 3 ounces of gold she bought 10 days ago, Ms. Cam has lost approximately 15 million VND. "From making a slight profit, my gold investment quickly turned into a loss in just a few days," she lamented.
Those who lined up to buy gold on March 2nd when the price rose to 190.9 million VND/ounce are now losing 10.1 - 11.4 million VND per ounce. Not only gold bars , but those who bought gold rings are also facing a similar situation. Mid-week, Mr. Nguyen Phuong (Ho Chi Minh City) spent over 55 million VND to buy 3 taels of 9999 gold rings at 183.9 million VND/ounce. He thought the political tensions would bring him a sweet profit, but so far, Mr. Phuong hasn't broken even and is still down more than 1 million VND.
A strange phenomenon in the market is that as domestic gold prices rise higher than global prices, buying gold becomes increasingly difficult. Images of customers queuing to "buy the dip" in gold prices, despite domestic prices being 21-22 million VND/ounce higher than global prices, are causing concern among outsiders. A representative from SJC Company stated that when gold prices fall, selling pressure decreases significantly, while buying remains high. World gold prices on the afternoon of March 6th were at $5,090/ounce, down 8% from the peak reached at the end of January, a loss of approximately $400/ounce, but still 20% higher than at the beginning of the year. Escalating conflict in the Middle East has not driven up gold prices as investors continue to sell heavily. Large global gold investment funds have been continuously offloading large quantities in recent days. On March 3rd and 4th, the fund sold 20.29 tons; on March 5th, it sold an additional 5.15 tons. The fund's gold holdings currently stand at 1,075.894 tons.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Trong, Director of New Partner Gold Company, said that the current global gold price trend is very difficult to predict due to unexpected events in the Middle East. Besides factors causing gold prices to fall, such as the rising USD, there is now information that Poland, the world's largest gold buyer over the past two years, may begin selling gold to double its defense budget. However, according to Mr. Trong, one factor currently supporting gold is the excessively high oil price, impacting inflation, and gold will benefit from this in the coming period. "The lower the gold price, the more people hoard. Those who own gold are less likely to sell it at this time unless they need the money for other purposes. Customers holding gold need to be cautious during this sensitive period to avoid losses," Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Trong stated.
Interest rates continue to rise, making borrowing difficult.
While gold prices are in a downward trend, deposit interest rates are increasing. For terms under 6 months, many banks are offering interest rates at the maximum of 4.75% per year. Competition for deposits is fierce for terms of 6 months or more. For these terms, some banks are offering high interest rates, up to 7-8% per year. For example, at Cake by VPBank, a 6-month term with added bonus interest can reach 8.2% per year; PGBank offers 7.1% per year; NCB offers 8% per year. Some banks are offering high interest rates of 9% per year, subject to conditions such as deposits of several hundred to several thousand billion VND and terms of 12 months or more. Interest rates of 6-6.6% per year for 6-month terms are quite common.
The prolonged increase in savings interest rates since the fourth quarter of 2025 has impacted lending rates for customers. Major banks such as Vietinbank, BIDV, and Vietcombank have adjusted lending rates upwards from 6-7% per year in the third quarter of 2025 to 9-10% per year, with rates for real estate loans increasing to 14% per year.
S&I Credit Rating Joint Stock Company believes that the upward trend in interest rates has become evident since the end of Q4 2025, when many banks simultaneously increased deposit interest rates, leading to a slight increase in lending interest rates. In particular, state-owned commercial banks raised deposit interest rates for the first time after more than three years of maintaining stable rates. The 12-month deposit interest rate at Vietcombank, BIDV, and Vietinbank increased by 50 basis points to 5.2%. The current upward trend in interest rates is not only driven by short-term supply and demand factors but also reflects prolonged internal pressure within the system.
The large gap between credit growth and deposit mobilization, coupled with high capital demand to meet economic growth targets in the coming years, necessitates adjustments to interest rates to ensure liquidity balance. Given that the corporate bond and securities markets have not yet fully played their role as long-term capital channels, bank credit continues to be the primary source of capital for the economy. Therefore, a reasonable increase in deposit interest rates is necessary to ensure system safety and maintain a foundation for growth. According to S&I Credit Rating Joint Stock Company, if the cycle of deposit interest rate increases continues in the coming months, lending interest rates could continue to rise by another 1-3%, pushing common lending rates above 8% per year.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
