HCMC – The U.S. dollar has dropped from early this week as demand for the greenback in Vietnam has declined.
U.S. dollar down against dong
By Thanh Thuong - The Saigon Times Daily
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| A staff member of Asia Commercial Bank counts U.S. dollar notes. The dollar has slipped this week - Photo: Kinh Luan |
HCMC – The U.S. dollar has dropped from early this week as demand for the greenback in Vietnam has declined.
Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, or Vietcombank, on Tuesday quoted the dollar at VND20,890 for buying and VND20,960 for selling, down VND50 against the previous day and VND76 against the ceiling level last Friday.
On the unofficial market, the greenback was bought and sold at VND21,085 and VND21,100, while the respective prices were VND20,950 and VND21,200 late last week.
Local experts said the adjustments are normal as many banks have shifted to keeping foreign currencies rather than dong given a sharp decrease in inter-bank interest rates. Therefore, the dollar failed to maintain a long-term rise due to low demand.
Explaining the recent exchange rate volatility, Pham Hong Hai, deputy general director of HSBC Vietnam Bank, said banks earlier kept foreign currency status negative to enjoy forward points given the wide difference between dollar and dong interest rates. They have started to buy dollars to shift to positive foreign currency status as the difference has narrowed down.