Following a spike in spot gold price, the Yangon Gold Entrepreneurs Association (YGEA) set the pure gold price higher at K3.758 million per tical (0.578 ounce or 0.016 kilogramme).
The spot gold price rallied to US$2,084 per ounce on 28 December. The actual market value of pure gold is approximately K3.72 million, which is over K30,000 per tical lower than the YGEA’s price.
On 5 December, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) allowed authorized dealers (private banks) to operate forex exchange transactions freely as per the liberalized market rate determined by the supply and demand dynamic. Following this move, the price gap between the YGEA’s price and the market price is not that different.
Earlier, the YGEA used the interbank transaction rate set by the CBM in calculating the reference price for pure gold, indicating a big gap of K400,000-K500,000 per tical. The greenback is valued at around K3,500 at the over-the-counter market.
When the Kyat depreciated at K4,000 against the greenback in the forex market, the gold price peaked at K4 million per tical in late August 2023. — NN/EM
