Visiting Tran Nhan Tong street in Hanoi, the street of gold shops, Mai Phuong was dumbfounded as all the shops were deserted.

“I want to buy some gold rings to give a friend of mine as a wedding present. However, it seems to be very difficult to buy gold,” she told VietNamNet.

“I was told that it’s nearly impossible to buy gold after 10am, so it would be better to leave now and come back early tomorrow,” she added.

A saleswoman at Bao Tin Minh Chau Shop said the shop had sold gold to 50 clients that morning and each client bought 0.5 taels at maximum. Within 30 minutes after the opening, the shop stopped selling gold. There was only one sale session a day.

She said that the gold shop was deserted not because gold was running out, but because of the new policy under which gold is sold in limited quantities. The busiest time of the day lasted 30-40 minutes.

Gold shops are still open all day, selling gold jewelry, but most clients just want to buy gold rings and gold bars.

Bach, the owner of a street tea shop nearby, told VietNamNet that gold shops on the street are not selling gold at certain times.

“A woman yesterday gave me VND100,000 and asked me to call her to come to buy gold when the shop begins selling gold,” he said.

“Many clients came here this morning to buy gold, but it was of no use. They wavered between leaving and waiting, but they were not sure how long they needed to wait,” he explained.

Vu, a gold buyer from Hai Ba Trung district, said it was unclear when the shops would sell gold or how much, because the gold market fluctuates all the time.

However, he hopes the shops will clearly inform people about when they will sell gold. If so, people will not have to park motorbikes and cars and enter the shops to ask about sales, which will help prevent traffic congestion on the small street.

The domestic gold ring prices have been fluctuating. On September 30, SJC quoted prices of VND81.5 million and VND83 million (buy/sell) per tael. Doji’s prices were VND82.75 million and VND83.45 million, respectively.

As such, gold ring prices are just VND50,000 per tael lower than SJC bullion gold.

Hanh Nguyen