At nearly 9 p.m., despite the drizzle, there were still about 100 people waiting to buy gold for luck at a jewelry store in Hanoi. Many stores in Ho Chi Minh City were also crowded with customers.
Unlike previous years, this year's God of Wealth Day saw a spike in the number of buyers in the evening.
In Hanoi, Tran Nhan Tong "gold street" is bustling with customers tonight, even more than at noon. Gold shops have seen many buyers having to take numbers and wait in line for their turn. At 8pm, at the PNJ branch on Cau Giay Street, customers are still continuously coming in and out of the store.
Customers wait to buy gold at PNJ Cau Giay store, Hanoi, at 8pm. Photo: Minh Son
Ms. Hang (Hai Ba Trung) said that she came to buy gold at noon but the store was crowded so she decided to come back in the evening after work. "I thought everyone bought gold in the morning and noon so it would be quiet at night, but I didn't expect it to be so crowded. I buy it every year, it's become a habit now. Therefore, even though I have to wait, I still try to buy some gold on God of Wealth Day for good luck," she said.
At Bao Tin Minh Chau gold shop on Cau Giay street, at 8:40 p.m., it was drizzling and there were still more than 100 people lining up waiting their turn to buy gold.
According to the store's staff, the number of customers coming in and out is slightly higher than in the morning, but people buy and sell faster, with less choice. "Customers mainly take advantage of the time after work to buy and then go home, so they only buy the type of gold that is in stock and fits their budget," this person said.
More than a hundred people braved the rain to buy gold. Photo: Minh Son
The variety of products by this evening was not as abundant as in the morning. Most of the gold products were sold out, including plain rings and gold bars, with only processed gold remaining. Some 0.5-1 chi products were also reported to be out of stock.
PNJ Cau Giay sold out of gold bars by 8pm. Photo: Minh Son
After running out of gold, customers are advised by staff to switch to other items such as necklaces or bracelets. Many people cannot buy the product they want but are still happy because they have maintained the tradition of going to the gold shop to buy any tael to bring luck on God of Wealth Day.
In Ho Chi Minh City, customers also flocked to two gold shops located next to each other of the Mi Hong brand on Bui Huu Nghia Street (Binh Thanh District) during rush hour on February 19.
The number of customers is estimated to be twice as high as at noon the same day. Many people had to wait in line for 10-15 minutes to buy gold.
Mi Hong gold shop, Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City is crowded at 6pm. Photo: Thanh Tung
As the evening wore on, the number of visitors to Bui Huu Nghia Street increased, causing traffic jams. The parking lot near the market stopped accepting new visitors at 6 p.m.
Security guards arrange vehicles and regulate traffic on Bui Huu Nghia Street, Ho Chi Minh City during rush hour on God of Wealth Day, February 19. Photo: Thanh Tung
At the same time, customers had to line up all the way to the door at PNJ Hai Ba Trung (District 1) to buy gold rings. This store still had 5-centimeter and 1-chi plain gold rings while many other branches had reported being "out of stock" since yesterday.
Ms. Mai (District 10) has been waiting in line for more than 20 minutes but it is still not her turn to pay. Tonight, she wants to buy two 1-chi rings.
At 7pm on February 19, customers lined up to buy gold at PNJ Hai Ba Trung, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tat Dat
At around 7:30 p.m., SJC Nguyen Thi Minh Khai (District 1) also recorded more than 50 customers coming to buy gold bars and rings. The line of people stretched out to the parking area. Each customer had to wait more than 10 minutes to pay. For those who transferred money, the waiting time was longer because they needed staff confirmation.
Mr. Hung (Tan Binh) stopped by to buy gold as a habit for over 10 years. Instead of gold bars, he chose the two-tael plain ring because the price fluctuates less.
Saigon people flock to buy gold on the evening of God of Wealth Day. Video: Tuan Viet - Nguyen Diep
Looking at the above developments, businesses believe that it may be because today is Monday, the first day of the week, many people have to work during the day so they take advantage of buying gold in the evening. "Therefore, the number of customers coming to May Vang stores increased dramatically in the late afternoon and evening," said a PNJ representative.
This year, although there were no lines of people lining up to buy gold from dawn like every year, the amount consumed still "exceeded forecasts". Previously, due to the assessment that demand this year would be lower, PNJ only produced enough gold.
After many adjustments in the early morning and early afternoon, from 2 p.m. until now, the buying and selling prices of gold bars, plain rings and jewelry are being kept unchanged by gold shops. At 7:30 p.m., gold bars at SJC were listed at 75 - 78 million VND per tael, down about half a million VND.
Thanh Tung - Minh Tuan - Tat Dat - Quynh Trang
Source link
Comment (0)