Dollar weakens against dong

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND25,460, down 0.02% from Thursday.

The greenback slid 0.21% to VND25,735 on the black market.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) lowered its reference rate by 0.02% to VND24,248.

The dollar has increased against the dong by 4.26% since the beginning of the year.

Globally, the yen was soft after a volatile start on Friday as traders weighed its sharp surge after U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly dropped, stoking speculation that Tokyo had intervened to lift the currency away from 38-year lows, Reuters reported.

The Japanese currency swung between gains and losses in early trading before trading slightly weaker. It was last down 0.27% at 159.27 per dollar.

The surge in yen was triggered after data on Thursday showed U.S. consumer prices fell for the first time in four years in June, firmly putting disinflation back on track and keeping an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on the table.

The dollar as a result has been on the defensive, with the dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, at 104.49, not far from the one-month low of 104.07 it touched on Thursday.

"With the likelihood of a dovish September Fed rate cut, we could see a softer dollar in the near term," said a managing director of investment strategy at OCBC.

Elsewhere, the euro was steady at $1.087, just below the one month high of $1.090 touched on Thursday.