Global gold prices climbed sharply during trading on May 6, marking the first time this week bullion broke out of its trading range around US$4,500 an ounce. In Vietnam, the gap between domestic and global gold prices narrowed to an unusually low level.

At 6:15 pm Vietnam time on May 6, spot gold traded at US$4,713 an ounce, up US$154 from the start of the session. June 2026 gold futures on the Comex exchange in New York stood at US$4,722 an ounce.

Positive geopolitical signals and movements in the US dollar helped push global gold prices higher. The rebound came even as oil prices cooled and US stock markets traded at fresh record highs.

Axios, citing sources, reported that the White House believes the US and Iran are close to reaching a one-page memorandum containing 14 points aimed at ending the conflict and laying the groundwork for broader nuclear negotiations. According to the report, Washington is awaiting a response from Tehran within the next 48 hours.

Although no formal agreement has been reached, this is viewed as the closest the two sides have come to a deal since tensions escalated in late February. The White House has not publicly commented on the reports.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a suspension of the military campaign “Project Freedom”, which had involved escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, citing positive progress in negotiations.

On Truth Social, Trump said substantial progress had been made toward a “complete and final agreement” with Iranian representatives.

Brent crude oil prices fell to just above US$100 a barrel. Meanwhile, yields on 10-year US Treasury bonds eased slightly to around 4.42%-4.43%. The US dollar index dropped 0.6% over the past 24 hours, improving the appeal of safe-haven assets such as precious metals.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed at fresh record highs, supported by gains in Intel and artificial intelligence-related stocks. At the close, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1%.

A new report from the World Gold Council showed that government-sector gold demand shifted to net selling in March 2026. Central banks sold a net 30 tonnes of gold, led mainly by Turkey and Russia, although several countries continued to add to reserves.

Poland, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China all increased their gold holdings, with Poland emerging as the largest buyer in the first quarter of 2026.

Just a week ago, the gold market had been under pressure ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting.

Within only a few trading sessions, gold lost tens of dollars in value, breaking below the key support level of US$4,600 an ounce and at one point falling close to US$4,500 an ounce. Overall, the precious metal lost around 2% during the week.

Buyers crowd gold shops amid rare low premium

As the evening progressed, gold stores became increasingly crowded.

Nguyen Thi Ha had just purchased three taels of gold at Phu Quy at a price of VND166 million per tael (US$6,400) and received the gold immediately. She said she buys gold as a long-term asset and is not overly concerned about short-term price swings.

“I buy regardless of the price. Whenever I have money, I buy gold. Some of my purchases were made when prices exceeded VND180 million per tael (US$6,900), but I still felt comfortable. The lower the price, the better the opportunity to average down,” Ha said.

Similarly, at around 6 pm, Nguyen Hoai Nam visited Bao Tin Manh Hai gold shop in Ha Dong ward to buy gold. According to observations, the store became increasingly crowded, with more than 20 customers waiting and conducting transactions.

“I noticed it was much busier today than on my previous visits. What surprised me most was how narrow the gap between domestic and global gold prices has become. Since morning, world gold prices have surged dramatically, but domestic prices only rose by around VND1 million per tael (US$39). That is quite rare,” Nam said.

In reality, Vietnam’s domestic gold prices moved quite differently from global trends during the day.

At the opening of the morning session, SJC gold and several other brands simultaneously rose by as much as VND2.5 million per tael (US$96), reaching VND167.5 million per tael (US$6,450). However, only a few hours later, prices quickly slipped back to around VND166 million per tael and remained at that level even as world gold prices surged by as much as US$160 an ounce, surpassing US$4,700.

The development significantly narrowed the gap between domestic and international gold prices, at times to just VND15-16 million per tael (US$580-620). Such a gap is rarely seen in Vietnam’s gold market, where domestic prices have typically traded more than VND20 million per tael above world prices, with the spread occasionally widening to VND30 million per tael.

Duy Anh