GUIDE
How to read Myanmar gold prices
Last updated: 27 October 2026
Myanmar gold is quoted in a way that looks complicated until you know what each part means. Once you know that a ပဲရည် is a weight unit and not a currency, that the price is per tical, and that the word စနစ် describes the metal's purity, the numbers on this board become straightforward.
What a ပဲရည် actually is
A ပဲရည် (pyat, often shortened to ပဲ) is the traditional Burmese weight unit for gold. One tical is about 16.606 grams. Gold in Myanmar is not quoted by the gram the way it is in most countries — it is quoted per tical, and that is why a 16-pae quote runs into the millions of kyat while a world spot price runs in thousands of dollars.
The word ပေါက် (pauk) means a finished, whole tical of gold as sold by a shop — the bar or bead itself, rather than its weight. When a source says it publishes ပေါက် 16 ပဲရည်, it means the price of one whole tical, not a melt value.
စနစ်ဟောင်း and စနစ်သစ်
စနစ်ဟောင်း means the old system, and စနစ်သစ် means the new system. These are two different purity standards for the same nominal 16-pae weight, and they are not interchangeable.
- 16 ပဲရည် စနစ်ဟောင်း — the traditional standard, treated as close to 99% pure. This is the headline number most people mean when they say "the gold price".
- 16 ပဲရည် စနစ်သစ် — a lower-purity standard, commonly read as about 90% gold. It sells for less per tical than the old system even though the weight is identical.
Because both are called "16 ပဲရည်", a quote without the system word is ambiguous. That is why every gold row on this board carries its grade, and why we never merge the two into one number.
Why the shop price is not the world price
World gold is quoted as US dollars per troy ounce — 31.1034768 grams. Local gold is quoted in kyat per tical — 16.606 grams. Converting between them needs three inputs: the world spot price, the kyat rate for US dollars, and the purity of the grade.
The rough shape of that calculation is:
local price per tical ≈ world spot (USD/oz) × USD sell rate (MMK) ÷ 31.1034768 × 16.606 × purity
That formula gives a reference figure, not a shop quote. Real shops also price in their own margin, their stock, their making charges and the risk they carry, so the market price usually sits above the calculated melt value. When a source publishes a 16-pae estimate, it is this calculation — it moves with the dollar rate more than with the gold price itself.
ဝယ် and ရောင်း
Where a source publishes two sides, ဝယ် (buy) is what the dealer pays you when you sell gold to them, and ရောင်း (sell) is what they charge you when you buy from them. The gap between them is the dealer's margin, and it is normal for it to be a few percent wide. A single-point figure is not a pair and should not be read as one.
Reading a price you did not expect
If a figure looks ten times too small or too large, the usual cause is a dropped zero. Burmese numerals run together, so ၁၀၁၂၀၀၀၀ is 10,120,000 and not 1,012,000. Before trusting a number, check that it sits in the right range: a 16-pae old-system quote belongs in the tens of millions of kyat, and a world spot price belongs in the thousands of dollars per ounce. If the number is outside its range, it is a typo, not a price.
What this board does not show
We do not publish the Central Bank of Myanmar reference rate next to the market rate, because the two answer different questions and mixing them invites confusion. We also do not publish a bank's counter rate as if it were the street rate. For the reasoning behind each of those choices, see About & our sources.
Questions people ask
- Is the board's gold price what a shop will pay me today? Not always. It is the price a named source published, which may be an indication rather than an executable quote. Confirm with a dealer before you sell.
- Should I sell old-system or new-system gold? That is a question about the purity you are holding and the price difference between the two grades, not a market call. The board shows both so you can compare.
- Why is the calculated estimate different from the shop quote? Because the estimate uses a formula and today's dollar rate, while the shop quote includes its own margin and stock. The estimate is a cross-check on the rate basis, not a second opinion on the gold price.
- How often do these prices change? The sources publish on their own schedule, and each row on the board carries the time that source recorded it. We do not present an old number as a current one.
Ready to see today's numbers? Open the gold board or read how to read the exchange-rate table.