Dollar Exchange Rate at Vietnam Banks Hit Record High
Commercial banks in Vietnam quoted the bid and ask prices of U.S. dollars at VND17,832 on September 10, a record high so far, following high rise in the inter-bank exchange rate.
The forex rate of VND/USD hit the 5% ceiling rate set by the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank.
The central bank has continuously raised the inter-bank forex rate since late August. It set the rate at VND16,983 per U.S. dollar on September 10, surpassing the VND16,980 benchmark.
The highest inter-bank exchange rate was recorded at VND16,989 on December 25 last year when the central bank decided to raise the rate by 3% from VND16,494. At that time, the forex rate quoted by commercial banks were below VND17,500 with daily trading band of +/-3%.
In August, the SBV said that the foreign currency demand and supply on the market has been eased after the country’s trade deficit narrowed US$5.121 billion between January and August, much lower than US$15.828 billion last year.
Enterprises’ demand for credit in foreign currencies, mostly U.S. dollar, in July and August grew by 1.2% and 1.52%, respectively, while some banks pushed the U.S. dollar deposit rate to 4%-4.15% per annum.
The government’s General Statistic Office (GSO) estimated that the U.S. dollar price index of August 2009 was up 6.36% from last December and 8.95% from a year earlier. (CafeF)
Vietnamese
