SJC goldl bullions on display at a branch of Agribank. The gold demand in Việt Nam slumped significantly in the third quarter of this year as the sharp price rise deterred fresh buying. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

HÀ NỘI — The gold demand in Việt Nam slumped significantly in the third quarter of this year as the sharp price rise deterred fresh buying, while the world’s total gold demand touched record high, according to the Q3 gold demand trends research recently published by the World Gold Council.

The demand for jewellery in Việt Nam was at 2.6 tonnes, a year-on-year drop of 13 per cent, while demand for bar and coin fell 33 per cent to 7.9 tonnes.

The record gold price environment resulted in weaker gold jewellery demand in ASEAN markets. For Việt Nam, currently depreciation exacerbated the rise in international gold prices, helping to explain the larger decline in demand.

According to the report: "Global geopolitical tensions, local political and economic concerns and bullish price expectations buoyed ASEAN investor’s appetite for gold in Q3. Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia all recorded double-digit year-on-year growth. Contrastingly, Việt Nam was the outlier: demand slumped as the sharp price rise deterred fresh buying.”

Meanwhile, the total gold demand gained 5 per cent year-on-year to 1,313 tonnes – a record for a third quarter.

“This strength was reflected in the gold price, which reached a series of new record highs during the quarter. The value of demand jumped 35 per cent year on year to exceed $100 billion for the first time ever.”

The average price for the quarter was 28 per cent higher year-on-year at a record of $2,474 per ounce.

In the last quarter, the World Gold Council predicted that gold prices would continue to climb due to increasing media attention on the stellar year-to-date returns.

Geopolitical uncertainty, stemming from both an escalation in Middle East tensions and the highly polarised US presidential election, is supporting increased investment interest and lower-than-predicted recycling.

Besides, the shift that is underway in global interest rate policy should promote further interest in gold investment as the opportunity cost of owning gold drops. — VNS