Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed a decision to exempt tariff for material gold imported and exported by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) as from March 15, 2014.

The decision was made to meet the demand for exporting gold bar and importing material gold at international standard of the SBV, according to the Government Portal.

It is expected to make it easier for the SBV in material gold import and export to produce gold bar to stabilise the domestic gold market.

Earlier, Decree No. 24/2012/NĐ-CP on the management of gold trading stipulates that there will be a government monopoly of bullion production and of the import and export of raw materials for gold bar production.

Local gold prices on January 21 fell to a three-week low of 35 million VND (1,653 USD) per tael. One tael is equivalent to 1.2 ounces.

Local gold plunged 28 percent in 2013, ending a 12-year bull run, tarnishing the metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

The fall in local gold prices was attributed to the SBV's efforts, including gold auctions. The central bank sold 1.82 million taels (69.9 tonnes) of gold bars through 76 auctions in 2013.

The SBV will continue the sales this year in an attempt to further stabilise the domestic market and address imbalances between supply and demand.-VNA