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Dollar jumps above VND18,000
The US dollar rose above the VND18,000 mark for the first time on the black market Wednesday.
It rose from VND17,600 Wednesday to close at an all-time high of VND18,020.
The rise in the value of the greenback in recent days has been hurting importers.
A representative from a Ho Chi Minh City computer distributor said he went to a private bank this week to buy US$5,400 to pay for his firm’s shipments imported from the US
But the bank refused to sell dollars to him, reportedly because it too bought greenback from the black market, and, instead, asked him to buy euro at the rate of VND27,058 and convert it into dollars.
“We had to buy dollars at the rate of VND17,350, VND1,000 higher than the bank rate,” the man told Thanh Nien Wednesday.
“Why does a domestic importer have to pay its US partner in euro? The central bank should investigate.”
He also said the bank should mention the rate of VND17,350 on the document so that his company could deduct it from taxable income and mention the exchange rate on the price tag.
Most computer shops carry dollar and exchange rates on price tags.
Analysts said the stronger dollar is also affecting the gold market since global gold prices are converted into market prices in Vietnam based on the dollar’s black market rates.
The black market rate for the dollar followed a similar pattern in Hanoi Wednesday.
At 11 a.m., the rates at the two largest gold shops in the capital, Bao Tin Minh Chau and Quoc Trinh rose respectively to VND17,750/18,000 and VND17,810/17,950.
The buying prices at some other shops see-sawed, rising to VND17,750 per dollar in the morning before slipping to VND17,000.
A gold shop on Hanoi’s Tran Nhan Tong Street said speculators booked profits by selling dollars, causing the price of the greenback to slide.
Nguyen Van Giau, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, said, “We have watched the market’s movements for a week and can be sure that speculation caused the dollar to fluctuate. We will continue to keep a close watch and announce timely measures.”
Banks, however, continued to maintain a rate of around VND16,220.
The central bank set the rate Wednesday at VND16,268, while the daily trading band is one percent.
Thanhnien
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