The increase in global gold spot prices pushed the Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association to hike up the reference price to over K2 million per tical (0.578 ounce or 0.016 kilogramme).
On 8 November, the YGEA’s price was K1,965,000 per tical when the global gold spot price was US$1,668 per ounce.
On 9 November, the global gold price edged up to $1,711 per ounce, and the reference price by the YGEA also climbed up to K2,015,000 per tical. The figures showed an increase of $40 per ounce and K50,000 per tical within one day.
However, the pure gold price hit K2.7 million per tical in the domestic market.
There is a price gap of about K700,000 per tical between the price set by the YGEA and the market price.
YGEA calculated the price depending on the Central Bank of Myanmar’s reference exchange rate of K2,100, with some addition. The dollar was exchanged at K3,000 in the black market.
Therefore, there is a large gap between the YGEA price and the market price based on the black-market dollar rate.
Meanwhile, YGEA called for the gold shops in Yangon Region to sell pure gold at K2,530,000 per tical, according to its notification released on 30 October 2022.
In August, a dollar value hit an all-time high of over K4,500 in the grey market and consequently, pure gold reached a record high of K3.7 million per tical in history. – NN/ GNLM