Dollar tiptoes down against dong

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND25,546, down 0.007% from Tuesday. The greenback fell 0.16% to VND25,760 on the black market.

The State Bank of Vietnam raised its reference rate by 0.008% to VND24,330. The dollar has dropped 0.02% against the dong since the start of the year.

Globally, the dollar was keeping the yen pinned near six-month lows on Wednesday as traders wagered the Federal Reserve will likely be slow in cutting rates after data showed the U.S. economy and labor market remained stable, Reuters reported.

The yen was last at 157.98 per dollar after touching 158.425 on Tuesday, a level last seen in July when Tokyo intervened to support the yen.

Investor focus in 2025 has been on shifting U.S. rate expectations, the growing divergence in policy path between U.S. and other economies and the threat of tariffs once President-elect Donald Trump steps into the White House on Jan. 20.

Data on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in November while hiring softened, suggesting the labor market slowed at a pace that probably does not require the Fed to be in a rush to cut rates.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit 4.699% after the data, the highest since April and was last at 4.6768% in Asian hours.

That left the dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six other major units, at 108.65, not far from the two-year high touched last week.

The euro fell about 0.5% overnight and traded at $1.0345 early in the Asia day. Sterling had also dipped and bought $1.2478.