Dollar inches down on black market

It slid 0.08% to VND25,680 at unofficial exchange points.

Vietcombank sold the greenback at VND25,453, the same price as Thursday.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) kepti ts reference rate steady at VND24,245.

The dollar has strengthened against the dong by 4.23% in the year to date.

Globally, the dollar hovered close to an eight-week low on Friday, ahead of a crucial U.S. jobs report that should provide clues on the timing of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, Reuters reported.

The euro was flat at $1.0889, after a gain of about 0.2% in the previous session, when the ECB lowered rates by a quarter point to kick off its easing cycle.

The dollar traded slightly stronger at 155.85 yen, but remained on track for a loss of nearly 1% for the week.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the currency against the euro and five other major rivals, was little changed at 104.13 early in the Asian day, not far from this week's low of 103.99, the first time it had broken below 104 since April 9.

For the week, the index was on track for a 0.5% slide following a run of weaker macro data that put two quarter-point Fed rate cuts back on the table for this year.