The new rules are not expected to significantly disrupt gold trading, which has grown increasingly popular, but are intended to improve transparency on online trading platforms, the central bank’s assistant governor, Pimpan Charoenkwan, said on Friday, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Under the regulations, which will come into force in March, online gold transactions conducted in Thai baht will be capped at 50 million baht (about $1.6 million) per user per day. Any transaction above that threshold will require approval from the authorities.
The cap will not apply to users who already held more than 50 million baht worth of gold in their accounts before the end of January. Those users will be permitted to sell their existing holdings back to platform operators without seeking additional authorization.
The new measures will also exclude gold trades conducted in foreign currencies, as well as transactions involving physical gold.
In addition, gold traders will be required to keep transaction records and regularly report their activities to the Bank of Thailand, Pimpan said.
Global gold prices have more than doubled this year and earlier this week surpassed $5,000 per ounce for the first time.
In Thailand, gold prices climbed above 80,000 baht ($2,545) per baht-weight for the first time on Thursday before falling sharply on Friday, underscoring the volatility that has raised concerns among authorities.
Baht-weight is Thailand’s standard unit for measuring the weight and purity of gold. It typically equals 15.244 grams (about 0.54 ounces) for 23-karat gold bars and around 15.16 grams (0.53 ounces) for gold jewelry, though the exact weight can vary slightly depending on purity.
