Vietnam central bank cancels first gold auction in 11 years

Vietnam's central bank has canceled a gold auction due to take place at 10 a.m. Monday, which would have been the first after an 11-year hiatus.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) made the cancelation because there were not enough participants, and deposits had not conducted correctly, the bank said in a Monday announcement.

The auction will be resumed on Tuesday morning, with 16,800 taels on offer at a reference price of VND80.7 million ($3,170) a tael, down VND1.1 million from the price intended for the Monday auction.

The SBV had planned to auction 16,800 taels of SJC-branded gold bars at a reference price of VND81.8 million ($3,215) a tael to increase supply of the precious metal. A tael is equivalent to 37.50 grams.

Bidders had been cleared to buy 1,400-2,000 taels, equivalent to 14-20 lots, for a minimum price equal to or higher than the floor price set by the SBV.

Out of the 26 companies and banks eligible to take part in the auction, 15 had registered.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh earlier this month asked the SBV to narrow the gap between domestic and global gold prices, which now stands at around VND13 million a tael, and tackle gold smuggling and price speculation.

On Monday morning, state-owned Saigon Gems and Gold Company (SJC) was offering the yellow metal at VND80.3-82.8 million ($3,155-3,253) a tael for bids and asks, down VND1.7-1.2 million from last weekend. It added VND200,000 a tael on both sides one hour later.

The SBV raised its mid-point USD/VND exchange rate by VND12 to VND24,272 a dollar on Monday. The greenback is being offered by Vietcombank at VND25,145-25,485, VND12 higher than its last quote on Friday.