Spot gold prices opened the trading session on August 12 on the New York market (evening of August 12, Vietnam time) with a sharp increase, about 20 USD compared to the end of last week, reaching 2,445 USD/ounce.

After that, gold continued to climb and by the end of the session (early morning of August 13, Vietnam time), it jumped to 2,473.9 USD/ounce, close to the historical peak set nearly a month earlier.

On July 17, the spot gold price in the international market set an all-time record high of 2,483 USD/ounce (equivalent to 77 million VND/tael according to the USD/VND exchange rate at that time) after US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell signaled a reversal of monetary policy.

Mr. Powell expressed concern about the weakening and recession risk of the US economy. In addition, the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump on July 13 also strongly supported the precious metal.

However, the price of gold then had sharp corrections, at times falling to nearly 2,350 USD/ounce or several times falling below the threshold of 2,390 USD/ounce due to profit-taking pressure and information about stopping gold purchases by the "big player" People's Bank of China (PBOC), as well as fluctuations in the financial market that triggered the decline of most assets. The USD occasionally recovered before a long-term downtrend ahead also contributed to restraining the increase of gold.

However, over the past year, gold has been on a very strong upward trend.

In October 2023, the world gold price was at 1,820 USD/ounce, now it has reached 2,473 USD/ounce. The increase is nearly 36%.

World gold prices skyrocketed again and reached a historic peak as the US sent more troops and military equipment to the Middle East in response to the possibility of Iran attacking Israel.

The Pentagon has ordered the deployment of the nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine USS Georgia and accelerated the transfer of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln equipped with F-35C fighter jets to the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.

The incident comes as Iran's leadership has vowed to retaliate against Israel following the assassination of former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israel and Hezbollah are also engaged in cross-border tit-for-tat attacks after Israel's airstrike killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, in late July.

The Russia-Ukraine situation is also very tense with the shock of Ukraine's cross-border attack on Russia's Kursk region.

Gold also increased sharply due to gold buying and selling activities to cover short-selling contracts betting on a fall in gold prices.

Positive signals from technical analysis also support gold's upward momentum.

Gold also increased because investors believed in the inevitable downward trend of the USD, as the Fed is about to enter a phase of interest rate cuts.

Moreover, the USD's position as the world's reserve currency is also declining.

Data from the Atlantic Council shows that the world is actually using the US dollar significantly less than it did at the beginning of the century. Specifically, the share of foreign exchange reserves held by countries in the US dollar has dropped from 72% in 2002 to 58%. The BRICS group and gold are challenging the US dollar's number one position.

In fact, over the past two years, demand for gold has increased sharply, especially from major players in the market, including central banks of many countries...

Gold is expected to hit a new peak in the second half of 2024 and in 2025, when the Fed enters a rate cut cycle, the USD depreciates and inflation returns. This is a dual support factor for gold.

The US election in November is also considered a factor that will boost the precious metal. According to some experts, if Donald Trump or Kamala Harris becomes the 47th president of the US, interest rates will still fall and money will be pumped out to stimulate the economy. Gold will have the opportunity to reach new highs.

Recently, gold ETFs have also reversed their net gold purchases.

In a latest forecast, JP Morgan Bank maintained its forecast for world gold prices at an average of $2,500/ounce in 2024 and $2,600/ounce in 2025.

According to Kitco's survey, 62% of experts predict that world gold prices will increase this week.

Domestically, the price of gold rings continues to increase. The price of 9999 gold rings at SJC Company and some other businesses was sold at around 77.6 million VND/tael (afternoon of August 12) - about 1.5 million VND/tael higher than the converted world price as of early morning of August 13 (compared to 3 million VND at the end of the afternoon of August 12). The selling price of SJC gold bars on the afternoon of August 12 was at 78.5 million VND/tael.

Gold, stock, USD, bitcoin prices plummet: The strangest thing is happening The market is witnessing a rare phenomenon when most assets plummet, stock exchanges collapse, USD drops sharply, gold prices fall freely... This development is contrary to the usual rule: When USD increases, gold decreases and vice versa.