Buyers shy away as domestic gold price surges after NUG’s declaration of war 

By DMG 08 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
8 September 2021, Sittwe 

The domestic gold price in Myanmar surged on September 7, the day the National Unity Government (NUG) declared a “people’s defensive war” against the country’s military regime, hitting a record high of nearly K1.8 million per tical of 24K gold. 

The price surge resulted in lower demand but a rise in the number of people pawning their gold items, according to gold shop owners. 

“The demand has decreased by about 35 percent. So, the number of people pawning their gold items is more than the number of buyers,” said the owner of Mother’s Home gold shop in the Arakan State capital Sittwe. 

Ko Myo Myo, owner of Theikdi Aung gold shop, said the lack of buyers was also due to the ongoing third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“The sale of gold is sluggish. The number of customers is also small. People from rural areas do not come to gold shops to buy or pawn their gold items during the Covid-19 outbreak,” he said. 

U Khin Maung Gyi, manager of Rakhine Economic Initiative Public Company, said commodity prices could also increase due to the surging gold price. 

“The main factor in the increase of the prices of commodities is people’s trust in the value of money. People buy and save gold or US dollars because of lack of faith [in the local currency]. So, the price of gold and dollar prices are increasing,” he said.  

The price of 24K gold on September 7 rose to K1,790,000 for a tical. The gold market in Yangon Region is closed at the moment.