The price of SJC-branded gold bars dropped by VND500,000 ($19.6) per tael  on July 23 following the global price decline.

The four State-owned commercial banks, namely Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank and Vietinbank, and the Saigon Jewelry and Germ Stone Co. (SJC) sold the gold bars to the public at VND79.5 million ($3,123) per tael, down VND500,000 ($19.6) per tael compared to the previous day.

The global gold price plunged to around VND73 million ($2,868) per tael on July 23.

The gold prices in Vietnam are now around VND6.5 million ($255) a tael higher than the global one.

The four banks and the SJC have been solely permitted to directly purchase SJC gold bars from the State Bank of Vietnam to sell to the public from June 3 as part of measures to stabilize the gold market.