Dollar falls against dong

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND23,860, down 0.06% from Thursday.

Techcombank lowered its rate by 0.03% to VND23,875. Eximbank maintained the greenback at VND23,850.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s reference rate remained at VND23,639. The dollar was sold at VND23,780 on the black market, up 0.08%.

The greenback has increased over the dong by 0.55% since the beginning of the year.

Globally the dollar paused its ascent on Friday after a rise in jobless claims in the United States implied possibly easing conditions in the labour market and tempered expectations of further aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.

In Asia, moves were subdued as markets remained on guard ahead of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy decision at the conclusion of a policy meeting, the last to be chaired by incumbent BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda before he steps down in April.

The yen held steady in early Asia trade, and was last 0.2% higher at 135.89 per dollar, retreating from a nearly three-month low hit earlier in the week.

The BOJ is widely expected to maintain ultra-low interest rates on Friday and refrain from major changes to its controversial bond-yield control policy, leaving options open ahead of a leadership transition in April.

"In theory, it should be a non-event, but there is a non-zero chance that Kuroda goes out with a bang and alters yield curve control," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

The yen has come under downward pressure again in recent weeks as the BOJ has remained ultra dovish, while interest rate expectations in the U.S. have ramped up.