HANOI, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will import gold after being halted since May 2008, said a report on the website of the State Bank of Vietnam on Friday.

    The move aims to stabilize the gold price in the domestic market which has been pushed up at a record high in the past days, said the bank.

    The move followed the gold price in the domestic market reaching a record high of about 1,622 U.S. dollars a gold bar, weighing 37.5 grams. The price is higher than the gold price in the international market which was hovering at 1,122 U.S. dollars an ounce.

    According to the bank's decision, six domestic gold trading companies will be granted permission to import gold at appropriate volume to stop the heat of the domestic gold price. However, names of these companies have not been identified yet.

    The bank's decision will not create negative impacts on the country's trade balance this year which has seen a trade deficit of 8.8 billion U.S. dollars in the first ten months this year, said the governor of the bank Nguyen Van Giau.

    The increase in the domestic gold price was driven by the domestic speculation triggered by the forecast of the rise of global gold prices, said industry insiders.

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