SBV hikes central rate amid yuan devaluation
SBV hikes central rate amid yuan devaluation
The State Bank of Vietnam continued lifting the central reference rate between the Vietnamese dong and the greenback to a new record high today, May 15, in response to China’s dropping the yuan to a four-month low.
According to the Nguoi Lao Dong Online website, the rate advanced VND10 against Tuesday to VND23,064. Since the beginning of the year, the central bank has raised the rate by VND236, equivalent to 1.03%.
Financial experts attributed the rate hike to many factors, particularly the ongoing trade war between China and the United States.
However, most local banks dropped their U.S. dollar prices. Vietcombank in the afternoon posted the greenback at VND23,250 for buying and VND23,370 for selling, down VND30 from the morning and VND50 compared with the previous day.
At Eximbank, the greenback stood at VND23,330 for buying and VND23,410 for selling, before dropping to VND23,270 and VND23,350, respectively. The levels were lower than those seen on Tuesday by some VND60 per dollar.
On May 14, the People’s Bank of China noted it would devalue the yuan by 0.6% to the U.S. dollar amid the escalating trade war with the United States.
The new exchange rate, set by the bank, is adjusted to 6.8365 yuan per U.S. dollar, the weakest since January. According to experts, the move is intended to help China speed up exports.
On the world gold market, the precious metal stood near US$1,300 per ounce, which was almost unchanged compared with the previous session.
Local firms traded gold at VND36.33 million per tael for buying and VND36.5 million per tael for selling, falling VND50,000 against Tuesday. One tael is equal to 1.2 troy ounces.
