YGEA raises gold reference price higher tracking rise in spot gold price

The spot gold price rallied to US$1,980 per ounce, prompting the Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association (YGEA) to set the reference price at another high of around K3.1 million per tical (0.578 ounce or 0.016 kilogramme) on 20 October.
The spot gold price surged to $1,980 per ounce on 20 October up from $1,820 in early October, indicating a significant increase of over $160 within three weeks.
Pure gold fetches K3.47 million per tical in grey market, showing a price gap of nearly K400,000 per tical between the YGEA’s reference price and unofficial market value.
Yangon Gold Entrepreneurs Association (YGEA) switched to the Central Bank of Myanmar’s exchange rate K2,900 for interbank transactions in calculating the reference price for pure gold. At present, the US dollar is exchanged at K3,320 in the grey market.
As a result of this, the YGEA’s reference price and current market value differ depending on the US dollar exchange rate.
Myanmar’s gold price is highly tied to the spot gold price and US dollar exchange rate. The soaring dollar exchanging up to K4,000 drove the gold price up to a record high of K4 million per tical in late August 2023. — NN/EM