Gold shops and gold business owners are being closely monitored by the military junta as domestic gold prices reach record highs, forcing traders to sell with caution, sources said.
The junta has reportedly sent officials to monitor shops that remain open and has summoned gold traders for questioning. Authorities accuse some traders of buying and distributing gold bars to destabilize the domestic market.
In recent days, the chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary of the Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association were arrested over the allegations. The junta also warned traders to help maintain market stability and threatened effective action against those who fail to comply.
A gold trader in Yangon said officials are checking whether shops sell gold at the reference price set by the authorities.
“They send people pretending to be customers. They buy small items like earrings. If a shop sells at the outside market price instead of the set price, they copy the receipt and call the shop owner for questioning. They fine them and demand money. If they refuse to pay, they open a case against them. In Yangon, many shops have closed,” he said.
He added that most gold shops in Yangon are currently closed. Shops that remain open have suspended trading of gold bars and are operating on a limited scale.
In Mon State’s Mawlamyine, two gold shop owners were recently summoned for questioning and later released.
A gold trader from Thanbyuzayat said small-scale traders are struggling to operate under the current monitoring measures.
“The political situation is still unstable, so it is not easy to control the economy. During the election period, they allowed the market to operate freely. Now, small business owners with limited capital face difficulties. Large business groups linked to the military control gold and buy up US dollars,” he said.
Market experts said the sharp rise in domestic gold prices in late 2025 and early 2026 is due to declining confidence in the US dollar, large countries increasing gold reserves, and the depreciation of the kyat.
Observers noted that the military junta has long used arrests and pressure on traders as a method to reduce rising gold and dollar prices. It is also reported that large bribes, worth thousands of millions of kyats, have been taken from arrested business owners.
According to the Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association, the official reference price for one kyattha of 24-karat gold is set at 6,900,000 kyats, and 15-pyi gold at 6,495,000 kyats. However, the outside market price has reportedly reached 10,600,000 kyats per kyattha, while trading remains largely suspended.
