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Stronger dollar will cause prices to rise: Traders
Prices are expected to rise following the State Bank of Vietnam’s almost 10-percent devaluation last Friday, traders said.
The central bank lowered the dong's reference rate to VND20,693 per dollar from VND18,932.
The dollar traded at VND21,700 on the unofficial market yesterday whereas banks quoted it at VND20,920.
Prices of imported garments are expected to surge since most shops trade them in dollars rather than in dong, the director of a big fashion brand said.
Cosmetics will also become more costly this week, he said.
C., owner of a food and beverage outlet on Su Van Hanh Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 10, said he will hike beverage prices by 10 percent this week to offset the increase in rent which is calculated in dollars.
There is a tendency among electronics dealers to raise prices after any forex rate adjustment, Bui Tan Cuong, Sales Manager of the HCMC-based Thien Hoa electronics and furniture shopping center, said.
But no dealer has announced any price hikes as yet.
Nguyen Huynh Thy Khoa, Director of a computer shop in District 1, said he is likely to lose 10 percent on each of his bidding contracts submitted before Tet last week. The dong was then traded at an official rate of VND19,500.
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