On January 19, reporters recorded at some gold trading stores on Nhieu Tam, Nguyen Duy Duong, Le Thanh Ton streets, the number of customers coming to buy gold was much less than at the end of 2025.
An employee of a gold shop on Nhieu Tam street (An Dong ward) said: "Gold prices are still high, but the number of customers trading is very small, mainly customers come to ask for prices or sell to take profits, and buy new items very cautiously.
According to gold shops, SJC gold bars are still scarce, while purchasing power for gold rings and jewelry gold has not increased sharply.
Ms. Tran Thai Ha (resident of Vuon Lai ward) said that she once bought 2 taels of gold rings in October 2025. “At that time, I saw the price continuously increase, so I bought early to keep assets. Now the price is more than 162 million VND/tael, too high compared to my family's income, so I don't dare to buy more, just wait if there is an adjustment to reduce it before continuing to calculate” - Ms. Thai Ha shared.
Many people admit that the current gold bar price of over 165 million VND/tael of SJC gold is a major barrier. "A tael of gold is almost equal to the savings of both husband and wife for almost a year. At such a high price, only people with available money dare to buy, but middle-income people find it very difficult to follow" - Mr. Le Van Duong (Linh Xuan ward) said.
In addition to the high price factor, the trend of shifting cash flow to other channels also contributes to cooling down the gold market. From December 2025 to now, deposit interest rates have shown signs of increasing again, making savings deposits more attractive.
According to expert Tran Duy Phuong - Director of Golden Fund Jewelry Company, some reasons why the gold market is sluggish are that the demand for buying gold is no longer as high as before. Currently, gold ring prices at private brands mainly follow the developments of SJC gold bars, and no sudden increases appear.
Gold shops said they have not recorded major fluctuations due to weak purchasing power. Most people in need have bought before, especially in the period of October and November 2025.
In addition, the price of each tael of SJC gold has now exceeded 165 million VND, a price considered too high compared to the income of many people, making the accessibility of buyers limited.
The average increase in deposit interest rates from December 2025 to now also contributes to cooling down the demand for gold purchases, as part of the idle cash flow tends to shift to the savings channel.
Notably, a part of investors have shifted to silver, making gold no longer a priority channel as before.
In the international market, gold prices are in a high zone, posing a risk of correction, making investors even more cautious.
Combining the above factors, the psychology of buying gold is currently quite cautious. Many people in need are waiting for prices to decrease or temporarily choosing to deposit savings and buy silver to expect better profits.
