Long queues in Yaowarat as people seek to cash in on gold surge

People were required to wear face masks, maintain a distance of a metre or so between each other and enter the store one by one. Each customer’s body temperature was checked and they were made to clean their hands using the hand-sanitising gel before being allowed into the shop.

The price of gold has been rising since the Covid-19 outbreak has brought most economies to a standstill. Though the number of Covid-19 infections in Asia are slowing down, the numbers in the West are still rising.

The price of the precious metal is also being pushed up by support from the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange trading fund, which has built its holding of gold bullion up to 1,017.59 tonnes.

As of 3.17pm on Wednesday, the Gold Traders Association reported that the buying price of gold bars stood at Bt25,800 per baht weight and selling price at Bt26,000, while gold ornaments stood at Bt25,332.36 per baht weight and Bt26,500 respectively.

The price dropped by Bt100 per baht weight from the morning trade, when a gold bar cost Bt25,900 per baht weight to buy and Bt26,100 to sell, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,438.48 per baht weight and Bt26,600 respectively.