Pure gold price gains to K3.9 mln per tical in grey market

With spot gold price rising above US$2,000 per ounce and Kyat depreciation against the US dollar, the pure gold price moved up to K3.9 million per tical (0.578 ounces, or 0.016 kilogramme) in the unofficial market.
At present, the Yangon Gold Entrepreneurs Association set the reference price at K3.6234 million per tical, showing a significant difference of over K270,000 per tical between the YGEA’s price and the actual market value.
Earlier, the YGEA used the interbank transaction rate set by the CBM in calculating the reference price for pure gold, indicating a big gap of K400,000-K500,000 per tical.
On 5 December, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) allowed authorized dealers (private banks) to operate forex exchange transactions freely as per the market rate determined by the supply and demand forces.
The Kyat-US dollar exchange rate is currently around K3,570 at the over-the-counter market.
When the Kyat weakened to K4,000 against the greenback in the forex market, the gold price peaked at K4 million per tical in August 2023.
Subsequently, the YGEA urged the members to deal in immediate transactions with instant payments to curb the volatile market. — NN/EM