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Banks promise to sell dollars below VND17,000/US$1
The dollar prices applied by currency exchange shops in Hanoi have increased further, nearly hitting the VND17,200/US$1 threshold. Vietcombank and BIDV have forecast that the dollar price will exceed VND17,000/US$1 by the end of the year but have promised to sell dollars under the ceiling level for the immediate future.
Currency exchange shops on Ha Trung street in Hanoi this morning offered to purchase dollars at VND17,000/US$1 and sell at VND17,150/US$1. Some shops even quoted the high price of VND17,180/US$1.
The owners of the shops said that dollar prices would not go down until January 2009, as the demand for dollars to make payments always increases at the end of the year. They also said they had heard that the State Bank of Vietnam would keep the VND weaker to encourage exports.
Though affirming that the demand for dollars would increase, the shop owners said that supplies were still good and that they could provide as much as clients wanted.
At 10 am, the purchase prices offered by currency exchange shops in HCM City were VND17,020-17,120/US$1, an increase of VND50-120/US$1 over the previous day. Though prices have increased slightly, there has been no abnormal movement of numbers of clients.
The exchange rate on the black market proves to be higher than that offered by commercial banks. The interbank exchange rate announced by the central bank for today even saw a VND8/US$1 decrease from yesterday morning, to VND16,503/US$1.
With the current trading band of 3%, commercial banks’ rates can be as high as VND16,998/US$1.
The exchange rate quoted by Vietcombank this morning was VND48/US$1 lower than the ceiling level, at VND16,870-16,950/US$1 (purchase and sale) BIDV’s rates were VND16,910-16,945/US$1. Vietcombank’s and BIDV’s rates yesterday were VND16,820-16,840/US$1 and VND16,810-16,840/US$1, respectively.
BIDV General Director Tran Anh Tuan said that in the immediate time, BIDV’s exchange rate will not be higher than VND16,950/US$1, and that supply and demand is now in balance.
Viecombank’s General Director Nguyen Phuoc Thanh has also sent the same massage.
He believes that the rate will a bit higher than VND17,000/US$1 level by the end of the year, but the dollar price will not increase too sharply. The bank is selling $70-80mil a day, and the demand is expected to increase in some days, but the bank will meet all demands of businesses.
VNE
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