Reference exchange rate down VND3 on January 4
The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at 23,603 VND/USD on January 4, down VND 3 from the previous day.
SBV starts to buy US dollars, pump Vietnamese dong into market
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), on December 15, announced the US dollar buying price at VND23,450 per dollar after not listing the buying price for about three months. It shows that the SBV has started to buy foreign currencies for intervention and inject the Vietnamese dong into the market because foreign currency liquidity has become less tense.
Pressure on lending interest rates strengthens at year’s end
The recent sharp increase in deposit interest rates has pulled lending interest rates up by 3-4 percent per annum over the same period last year. In the face of highly increasing pressure on the USD/VND exchange rate, deposit interest rates have not cooled down yet, so the pressure on lending interest rates in the peak months of the year is still huge.
Foreign exchange reserves hit $63.5 billion
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s net purchase of foreign currencies exceeded $11 billion in the first half of 2018, increasing the nation’s foreign exchange reserves to approximately $63.5 billion.