VNBusinessNews – Domestic gold reached a record high Thursday even as profit-taking on the international market prompted the global price to fall.

The price of gold at the Saigon Jewelry Joint Stock Co., Vietnam’s biggest gold trader, rose VND280,000 (US$16.10) to VND19.83 a tael Thursday morning before closing at an all-time high of VND19.67 million ($1,124) per tael, or $937.4 an ounce. A tael is equal to 1.2 ounces.

The precious metal was traded at around VND20.6 million a tael ($1,178), or $982 an ounce, at the Ho Chi Minh City-based gold exchanges Thursday.

Hanoi gold shops were crowded with sellers all day.

“We didn’t have enough money to buy from all the sellers this morning,” said an official from Bao Tin Minh Chau, one of the largest gold shops in the capital. “We had to mobilize cash from several sources.”

Huynh Trung Khanh, a Vietnamese consultant for the World Gold Council, told Thanh Nien Daily on Wednesday that domestic prices would continue to rise this week as they are still lower than international rates.

Gold in London declined for the first time this week as some investors sold the metal to lock in gains from its rally to a seven-month peak.

Gold for immediate delivery lost as much as $15.98, or 1.6 percent, to $968.92 an ounce and traded at $976.84 an ounce at 11:34 a.m. London time. April futures declined $1.40, or 0.1 percent, to $976.80 an ounce in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bullion’s 14-day relative strength index Thursday held above 70, a signal for investors who study technical charts that prices may be set to drop.

Spot gold eased to $971.10/972.70 an ounce at 10:10 GMT from $984.50 late in New York on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Earlier it touched a peak of $985.95 an ounce, its strongest level since July 15.

“There will be some investors looking to book profits in gold,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst with VTB Capital in London. “Even though the long-term bullish momentum is still in place, the market will pause after the recent strong gains.” (TN)