The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) postponed the gold auction on Friday morning as there was only one bidder participating.

The SBV had announced an auction of 16,800 taels of SJC-branded gold this morning. This quantity was consistent with previous auction sessions. The minimum and maximum participation limits per member were set at 1,400 and 2,000 taels, respectively, with a 10 per cent deposit requirement.

The central bank had established a reference price of VNĐ82.9 million per tael (US$3,262). The floor price, which is the minimum price bidders must submit, would be disclosed during the auction.

However, the auction was delayed as only one bidder submitted a tender.

Today's postponement marks the third time the monetary authority has taken such action. The SBV initiated the gold auction on April 22.

Out of the three preceding auction attempts, two were postponed due to inadequate participation from registered entities. One auction was successfully held, but only 13,400 taels were sold.

Thus far, there were two winning bidders, namely Saigon Jewelry Company Limited and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), for a total of 3,400 taels of gold.

SJC gold prices soared after the cancellation announcement was released.

At 12.30pm, SJC gold prices were quoted at VNĐ83.5 million per tael for sellers and VNĐ85.8 million per tael for buyers, up VNĐ600,000 per tael from the morning session. This is the highest selling price of SJC gold, surpassing the peak of VNĐ85.5 million hit in mid-April. — VNS