The State Bank of Vietnam raised interbank exchange rate for the ninth consecutive time in the past 20 days to a six-month high on October 19.
The rate was now at VND20,733 per dollar, an increase of VND10 per dollar. It climbed VND105 per dollar, or 0.5 percent, this month. Meanhile the central bank said the depreciation would not be more than 1 percent this year. Thus, the interbank exchange rate is expected to surge by VND101 from now to the end of the year.
Vietcombank and Vietinbank sold dollars at VND20,940 per dollar, and purchased at VND20,935 per dollar, up VND10 per dollar over the previous day.
On free market, the US currency hit VND21,500 again. The greenback was bought at VND21,450, and sold at VND21,500, an increase of VND20 per dollar in buying price, and VND50 per dollar in selling price.
According to some experts, as both bank and black market dollars escalated, the central bank would struggle to keep the depreciation from rising less than 1 percent this year.
Thoi Bao Ngan Hang newspaper said the central bank pumped $150 million in the market in the first week of this month to stabilize the exchange rate.
