Local currency exchangers were selling a U.S. dollar for VND23,300 at 1 p.m. Wednesday, down VND50 from the peak of VND23,350 of last week. Their purchase price was VND23,230.
“Demand for USD has considerably decreased, so we’ve lowered the rate,” said a money changer in Disctrict 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
The VND/USD rate has also stabilized in commercial banks. Vietcombank has been trading U.S. dollars at VND23,010-23,080 for the last three days. The corresponding range was VND23,020-23,090 at Eximbank and other local banks.
This is a good sign for foreign currency liquidity, said the vice chairman of a joint stock bank in the South who asked not be named.
“In the last few days, the central bank has been selling dollars to limit fluctuations in the USD/VND exchange rate,” the banker said.
This intervention was one of the reasons behind the increase in the dong’s value against the U.S. dollar, the source added.