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Dong gains as banks scrap extra dollar exchange fees
The dong rose in the interbank market after the central bank banned commercial lenders from levying additional fees when selling US dollars to customers.
Some lenders have recently been using extra charges to push the effective exchange rate of their transactions above the maximum 5 percent limit over the official daily rate, the State Bank of Vietnam said Wednesday.
“The central bank’s warning sent a signal that it will not let the dong weaken more,” said Vu Thu Ha, Deputy Head of the foreign currency trading department at Vietnam International Bank in Hanoi.
The dong gained 0.04 percent to 17,795 per dollar as of 3:59 p.m. local time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency, which has declined 1.7 percent this year, reached a record low of 17,852 last week.
The central bank fixed a reference rate for Thursday’s dong trading at 16,952, versus 16,954 Wednesday, its website showed. The currency is allowed to fluctuate by as much as 5 percent on either side of the official rate.
Vietnam’s government five-year bonds advanced, with the yield on the benchmark notes falling 12 basis points, the most in three weeks, to 9.53 percent, according to prices from about 10 banks compiled by Bloomberg. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
thanhnien, bloomberg
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