Feature:"God of Wealth" Day pushes gold prices up in Vietnam

After the traditional Lunar New Year holidays locally called Tet in Vietnam ended on Monday, many Vietnamese, mostly businessmen, rushed to buy gold for luck, especially on the "God of Wealth" Day, pushing domestic gold prices up by 20 percent compared to that of previous weeks.

In Vietnam and some other Asian countries, the 10th day of the annual lunar January is considered the "God of Wealth" Day, which falls on Feb. 28 this year. On this day, people, usually the well- off, buy gold which is believed to bring good luck and prosperity throughout the year.

According to Phu Nhuan Jewelery Company (PNJ), with headquarters in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City, both the selling and buying prices of gold increased sharply on Friday, one day ahead of the "God of Wealth" Day, up to 240,000 VND (roughly 112 U.S. dollars) per tael of gold (one tael is equivalent with 1. 2 ounce, or 28.35 grams), against the previous day.

The global gold price also increased on Thursday, at one instance as high as 10 U.S. dollars per ounce, but decreased to 5 dollars per ounce on Friday morning. The global increase and the increase in domestic demand for gold resulted in a wider gap between global and domestic gold prices, from 4.4 million VND (205 U.S. dollars) on Thursday to 4.5 million VND (209 dollars) per tael on Friday.

In front of a gold shop in Binh Thanh district in HCM City, an old woman in her 80s told Xinhua that last year she came to the gold shop on the "God of Wealth" Day but she had to queue for almost an hour before she was able to buy a gold ring. This year, she said she bought a gold ring with the word "wealth" inscribed in it with no hassles.

"I bought lucky gold every year after Tet holidays from the ' lucky' money that my children and relatives gave me with the hope that my business would fare well throughout the year," the old woman, who owns a confectionery shop in the city, said. Nguyen Kim Ngan, who owns a construction company, said that during the "God of Wealth" Day, she usually buys animal figurines made of gold representing the zodiac year. "Last year, I bought a figurine of a horse (2014 was the Year of the Horse), and this year, it would be of a goat," Ngan said, adding that with that symbolic gold animal stored in her house, she wished her business would run well. To meet their clients, gold shops across Vietnam have prepared various kinds of products in gold in different sizes and shapes, each representing Happiness, Wealth, and Longevity. Figurines of the 12 zodiac animals are also in abundance.

Nguyen Van Thang, 54, owner of a gold shop in Binh Thanh district, said that in 2014 due to the country's difficult economic condition, she was unable to sell much gold. But this year, even a few days ahead of Tet, he was able to sell more, especially during the "God of Wealth" Day on Friday.

According to the latest data from the World Gold Council (WGC), Vietnam ranked seventh among the world's largest gold consumers in 2014 with 69.1 tons worth 2.817 billion U.S. dollars. The figure, however, posted a year-on-year decrease of 29 percent in volume and 36 percent in value.

Meanwhile, global gold consumption reached 3,216.6 tons last year, also showing a year-on-year decline of 22 percent, according to the WGC. Endi