An employee counts U.S. banknotes at a bank in Hanoi. Photo by Read/Giang Huy
The U.S. dollar rose against the Vietnamese dong Friday morning while trading mostly flat against major currencies.
Vietcombank sold the greenback at VND26,270, up 0.08% from Thursday. On the black market, the currency hovered at around VND25,990.
The State Bank of Vietnam lowered its reference rate by 0.02% to VND25,561.
Globally, the broader currency market has been fairly steady this week, with support for the dollar from higher oil prices and Middle East tension offset by benign U.S. jobs and inflation reports that reduced expectations for U.S. interest rate hikes, Reuters reported.
The euro edged 0.2% lower to $1.1536 this week while sterling was flat at $1.3489. The Australian dollar hovered at $0.7060.
The yen was at 159.36 per U.S. dollar, hovering close to the crucial 160 level that traders believe could trigger another bout of yen buying from Tokyo, after a joint intervention with the U.S. last month failed to steady the frail currency.
The currency has surrendered roughly half the gains sparked by intervention, falling about 1% this week to 159.43 per dollar.
South Korea’s won, which was also supported by official intervention as authorities sold dollars in concert with Japan last month, has held steadier than the yen though was set to notch a modest loss of 0.6% on the dollar this week.