Dollar retreats on black market

By Dat Nguyen   March 16, 2023 | 09:03 pm PT
Dollar retreats on black market
An employee counts U.S. banknotes at a bank in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy
The U.S. dollar plunged against the Vietnamese dong Friday morning on unofficial exchange points but remained stable at banks.

The greenback was sold at VND23,620 on the black market, down 0.42% from Thursday.

Vietcombank maintained the dollar at VND23,750. Eximbank kept the greenback unchanged at VND23,740.

Techcombank hiked the rate by 0.08% to VND23,770.

The State Bank of Vietnam lowered its reference rate by 0.01% to VND23,620.

The dollar has increased by 0.08% since the beginning of the year.

Globally the dollar slipped on Friday as risk sentiment improved after authorities and banks moved to ease stress on the financial system in major markets, taking heat off other major currencies that tumbled earlier in the week in the wake of bank turmoil, Reuters reported.

Large U.S. banks on Thursday injected $30 billion in deposits into First Republic Bank, swooping in to rescue the lender, which was caught up in a widening crisis triggered by the collapse of two other mid-size U.S. banks over the past week.

Cautious calm spread across markets on Friday, giving room for rises in risk-sensitive currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars, which were among the largest gainers in Asia trade.

The Aussie rose 0.4% to $0.6684, while the kiwi edged 0.3% higher to $0.62145.

The euro’s reaction to the decision was fairly muted, though it managed to eke out a 0.3% gain on Thursday. It was last 0.14% higher at $1.0625.

The $30 billion rescue package, put together by top power brokers from the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve and banks, followed Credit Suisse’s announcement earlier on Thursday that it would borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss National Bank.

 
 
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