Gold-buying frenzy grips Vietnam and Thailand as economic fears mount

Southeast Asia’s rush for gold is pushing prices up, but it’s not just everyday investors – central banks are buying at a ‘blistering rate’ too

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Customers buy and sell gold at a local gold shop in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 1 Jul 2024Updated: 9:54pm, 1 Jul 2024

Anxious consumers in Vietnam and Thailand are rushing to buy gold – a sign of Asia’s mounting alarm, analysts say, over currency devaluations against the US dollar, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty.

Visible queues of buyers waiting to snap up chunks of the yellow metal have persisted outside banks in the Southeast Asian nations for months, in scenes that underscore a growing sense of economic and geopolitical instability rippling through the region.

“What they are trying to do is to protect themselves against local currency depreciation,” said Singapore-based commodities and financial markets expert Michael Langford.

“If you don’t have much money in life, and all the goods that you buy and sell are ultimately priced in US dollars, and your local currency is going down, that doesn’t feel good. You have got inflation working against you, plus you’ve got currency depreciation. You are getting hit twice.”

Southeast Asia’s rush for gold has pushed prices up over the last six to 12 months, said Langford, who is executive director of corporate consultancy Airguide International.

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