Dollar slips against dong

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND25,550, down 0.04% from Thursday.

The greenback was stable at around VND25,800 at unofficial exchange points.

The State Bank of Vietnam lowered its reference rate by 0.03% to VND24,334.

Globally, the dollar was perched at a two-year high against a basket of currencies on Friday as investors fret about U.S. rates staying higher for longer, Reuters reported.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six other units, at 109.2, just below the two year high of 109.54 it touched on Thursday. The index rose 7% in 2024 as traders adjusted their interest rate expectations.

The euro was meanwhile among the biggest losers against a towering dollar, having tumbled 0.86% in the previous session to a more than two-year low of $1.022475. It was at $1.0269 in Asian hours on Friday, headed for a 1.6% weekly decline, its worst since November.

Similarly, sterling ticked up 0.04% to $1.2385, after sliding 1.16% on Thursday. It was on track to lose roughly 1.6% for the week.

The yen strengthened a bit to 157.295 per dollar, but stood not too far from an over five-month low of 158.09 per dollar hit in December. The yen fell more than 10% last year, its fourth straight year of losses.