The State Bank will allow more bullion imports if necessary to stabilise the over-heated domestic gold market and to keep prices stable, said Nguyen Van Binh, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, on August 24.
Measures will be applied to control the distance between domestic and global prices, somewhere under VND400,000 per tael," Binh said, adding that if the price disparity was allowed to widen it would encourage manipulation and speculation.
The domestic price is currently VND1-1.2 million higher than the global price.
Vietnam is a major gold consumer. Most of the bullion in the country is imported. Diminutive gold reserves are unable to significantly affect the market, Binh said.
The country has imported three tonnes to meet sudden strong demand, which has driven the domestic price up 3.6 percent to VND46 million per tael on August 9.
The State bank's move led to prices immediately falling to about VND45 million per tael, but the decline was only temporary.
Binh estimates that Vietnamese individuals and firms are holding 300-500 tonnes.
The gold price has hit new highs on August 23, eventually reaching just under VND50 million per tael on the domestic market and US$2,000 per ounce globally.