Record high gold price: People spread tarps and sat all night on the sidewalk waiting to buy

For nearly a week now, people in Ho Chi Minh City have flocked to buy gold despite record high prices. Some people waited overnight in front of stores to buy SJC gold bars. In Hanoi, some people even mobilized their whole family to queue up to buy gold.

Wait from 10pm the night before to buy gold

A long line of people lining up to buy gold was seen outside Mi Hong gold shop (Gia Dinh ward, Ho Chi Minh City) at 8am this morning (September 4), despite the domestic gold price being at a historic high.

According to VietNamNet reporters , about 200 people were waiting, waiting their turn to buy gold rings. To avoid chaos, the store staff gave out gold purchase tickets to each customer. Only 6 people were allowed inside to buy gold at a time. The store limited each person to buying a maximum of 1 tael of gold.

Earlier, on the morning of September 1 (before the holiday), there was a phenomenon of running out of plain gold rings at Mi Hong gold shop. Many people who came to buy had to go home empty-handed. An employee here said that they did not know when there would be more gold rings to sell.

Outside, the store's parking lot was full. Photo: Tran Chung

At the store of Saigon Jewelry Company Limited - SJC (Ban Co ward, HCMC) at 9am, the continuous shaking of heads was the reaction of many people when they walked out of the gold buying point.

“I was late for work. I lost patience in waiting in line so I left and didn’t buy anything,” said Mai Phuong, a customer who came to buy SJC gold rings.

Luckily, Ms. Thanh Binh (Xuan Hoa Ward) came to buy gold rings from 8am and left with a satisfactory product. However, she said that SJC limited each customer to only 5 phan (half a chi) of gold today, so she will come back tomorrow to buy more.

Notably, the queue to buy SJC gold bars was even more tense than buying necessities. Nearly 10 houses away from the SJC store, a long line of people lined up on the sidewalk of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street. They spread tarps on the ground and sat holding umbrellas to wait their turn. Inside the counter, customers also sat in the aisles waiting for their turn to buy.

“I’ve been in line since 10pm last night and I’ve only just bought one piece of gold,” a female customer said, then quickly got on her motorbike and sped off. She was probably late for work this morning.

Previously, on August 28, reporters also recorded queues to buy SJC gold bars and plain rings at the above stores. After a week, the number of people coming to transact at the gold shops has become increasingly bustling.

Customers spread tarps on the sidewalk, holding umbrellas, waiting their turn to buy gold. Some said they had been queuing to buy gold since 10 p.m. the night before. Photo: Tran Chung

People wait to buy gold at Mi Hong store (Gia Dinh ward, HCMC) on the morning of September 4. Photo: Tran Chung

Mobilize the whole family to line up to buy 4 taels of gold

In Hanoi , on Tran Nhan Tong gold street this morning, hundreds of people lined up to buy gold. However, Bao Tin Minh Chau store announced that it would only issue a limited number of 148 numbers.

Early in the morning, the selling price of gold here was 12.85 million VND/tael. More than 30 minutes later, the gold price was adjusted to increase by 50,000 VND/tael. At 9:00, the gold shop listed the gold price at 12.95 million VND/tael. The shop staff quickly announced that they would stop giving out coupons to customers.

Ms. Mai (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) shared that after withdrawing more than 300 million VND from her savings book, she has been continuously buying gold for the past few days. Because the store only sells a maximum of 1 tael per person per day, she and her daughter took turns lining up.

“In just a few weeks, the price of gold has increased to 1 million VND/tael. If the price continues to increase, I will have to mobilize my children and grandchildren to line up to buy for me,” said Ms. Mai.

People line up to get a number to buy gold. Photo: Duy Anh

Mobilizing the entire family of four to line up, Mr. Nguyen Van Tung (Dong Da) was lucky to get the last four votes this morning. Learning from previous experiences, Mr. Tung's wife asked the whole family to line up.

“Each time I buy a few taels, gradually accumulating it into a large amount. Since the beginning of the year, my wife and I have bought several taels of gold,” said Mr. Tung.

Many customers who could not get a number to buy gold went home disappointed. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (Thanh Tri, Hanoi) said that she took the bus early in the morning to buy gold. However, due to traffic jams, she arrived late and missed the opportunity to get a number. She is waiting until the afternoon to buy.

Gold shop staff said that most of the customers came to buy gold. The number of people selling and buying gold jewelry was very small. This afternoon, the gold shop could continue selling but limited to about 50 customers.

People rushed to buy gold even though the price was at an all-time high. Photo: Duy Anh

At the Phu Quy brand gold shop, the selling price of gold rings is 12.91 million VND/tael. The number of customers buying gold here is not as large as Bao Tin Minh Chau but is also limited. This shop also sells silver to customers who want to invest.

Meanwhile, at Doji gold store, sales staff announced that they do not sell SJC gold.

Since the beginning of the year, domestic gold prices have continuously recorded new records. This morning (September 4), opening the September 4 trading session, SJC gold bar prices increased by VND500,000/tael in both buying and selling directions, listed at a record high of VND132.4-133.9 million (buy - sell).

The price of SJC gold rings also increased sharply, with the 1-5 chi type listed at 126.2-128.7 million VND/tael (buy - sell), an increase of 700,000 VND/tael in both directions compared to the close of yesterday's trading session.

The price of 9999 gold rings at Doji increased by 500,000 VND/tael, trading at 126.3-129.3 million VND/tael (buy - sell).

According to experts, domestic gold prices have skyrocketed even though people's purchasing power has not really exploded. This is not necessarily a massive wave of speculation but mainly stems from a shortage of supply. In addition, pressure from the USD/VND exchange rate also makes it difficult for domestic gold prices to decrease.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/gia-vang-cao-ky-luc-trai-bat-tren-via-he-ngoi-tu-10h-toi-hom-truoc-cho-mua-2439138.html