Gold demand declines due to volatile domestic price: sellers

By DMG 06 Oct 2021

DMG Newsroom
6 October 2021, Sittwe

The volatile price of gold has resulted in high supply and low demand in the local market, according to sources from jewelry shops.

The price of gold hit K2,220,000 per tical in the local market on October 4, according to jewelry shop owners. It reportedly dropped to K1,880,000 the following day, before rising to K1,985,000 on October 6.

“The gold price drops hundreds of thousands of kyats and rises hundreds of thousands of kyats in one day,” said Ko Nyan Tun Aung, a gold and jewelry shop owner, who added that the sharp price swings were bad for business.

A tical of 24K gold was about K1.45 million in January but had risen to over K1.95 million by September 27, with political instability following Myanmar’s February 1 military coup widely cited as the reason for the climbing price.

“Gold is not selling well these days,” said Ko Myo Myo from Theiddi Aung Jewelry shop, echoing Ko Nyan Tun Aung’s glum assessment of market conditions. “We cannot withdraw money from banks. As more and more people sell gold, people who want to buy gold are waiting for the price to drop.”

The US dollar has also strengthened significantly against the kyat since the coup, with the unofficial exchange rate reported at as much as K2,700 per dollar in recent days.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been cited as a contributing factor to sluggish gold sales of late.