Local banks have revised down the exchange rate. Meanwhile, the price of the greenback also declined on the unofficial market, with a dollar exchanged at VND21,400 on Monday, down from VND21,900 early this month.

At kiosks around Ben Thanh Market in HCMC, the greenback was bought and sold VND21,350 and VND21,400 respectively, a mild decline compared to the buying price of VND21,500 on July 15.

Vietcombank, one of banks with ample dollar supply, bought the greenback at around VND21,190, down around VND30 against late last week, and sold it at VND21,245, a mild drop of VND1 compared to during last week.

VietinBank also revised down dollar prices to VND21,175 and VND21,240 for buying and selling respectively, dropping strongly against the previous week.

Eximbank posted up dollar prices lower than those of Vietcombank, buying the greenback at VND21,170 while selling it at VND21,230, or VND16 lower than the ceiling price. Meanwhile, DongABank sold a dollar at only VND21,225.

DongABank deputy general director Nguyen Thi Kim Xuyen said that dollar supply and demand of the lender stayed normal as the demand to buy dollars for goods imports is not high. This was the reason why DongABank quoted lower dollar prices than last week.

Phan Huy Khang, general director of Sacombank, said that the exchange rate situation has been stabilized. The bank has balanced foreign currency supply and demand and it has seen no unusual fluctuations.

According to deputy general director of a local bank, the greenback has been sold at around VND21,188 on the inter-bank market, much lower than VND21,246 early last week.

A leader of the central bank said that SBV has stopped selling dollars to commercial banks as the exchange rate has declined. This agency only intervenes in the market upon signs of tension.

In the coming time, the forex rate stability is expected to continue. Foreign currency supply is expected to increase as the country’s balance of payments is estimated to run a surplus of around US$5 billion this year.

People at present are turning foreign currencies into dong as dollar deposit rates have dropped to around 1.25% per annum compared to dong deposit rates from 5-7% per annum. Overseas remittance is forecast to be equal to last year’s at over US$8 billion.

Source: SaigonTimes.