Pure gold price per tical reaches K3.8 mln in market

According to information from the gold market, the price of pure gold has surged to K3,800,000 per tical, despite both the reference rate for pure gold set by the Yangon Gold Entrepreneurs Association (YGEA) and global gold prices currently experiencing a downward trend.
The global gold price is US$2022 per ounce, while the YGEA reference rate for pure gold is K3,638,500 per tical. This results in a discrepancy of over K100,000 between the market price (K3,800,000) and the YGEA reference price (K3,638,500).
The YGEA established the reference gold price by calculating based on the interbank online forex rate set by the Central Bank of Myanmar before 5 December 2023. At that time, the market price and the YGEA reference price had a gap of at least K400,000/500,000 per tical.
On 5 December 2023, the Central Bank of Myanmar transitioned online forex trading to a floating market, allowing Authorized Dealers to trade based on demand and supply without the Central Bank of Myanmar’s direct involvement in setting the forex rate.
The updated exchange rate in the market is K3,450 for a dollar. Market price records show that the price of pure gold reached its maximum in the domestic market in late August 2023, coinciding with a soaring forex rate of K4,000 for a dollar. During that period, the price of gold even approached K4 million in the gold market. — NN/TMT