|
Dollar prices down as demand slumps ahead Tet
The selling prices of the greenback in both official and unofficial markets have cooled down over the last week thanks to the increased supply against falling demand.
Most money exchangers in the areas around Ben Thanh market in Ho Chi Minh City now sell the greenback at VND21,200 a dollar, down by VND200 a dollar compared to last week, newswire Saigon Times Online reported.
According to an exchanger on the Phan Chu Trinh Street in District 1, demand for dollars has slumped in the last few days. Meanwhile, exchangers have increased supply thanks to purchases from foreign tourists and overseas Vietnamese who have returned to the country to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year.
Supply has increased against falling demand, so prices have dropped, he said.
However, the foreign currency exchanging activities around Ben Thanh market have been conducted secretly, with most exchangers only trading with frequent customers, for fear of receiving a steep fine and having the on-trade money confiscated, as per law.
On October 21, the government issued a new decree which established higher fines for violations in the financial sector.
Accordingly, the illegal trading of foreign currencies is subject to a VND500 million ($24,000) fine, and the confiscation of the traded amount of money.
Violators of the regulation will have their foreign currency exchanging licenses revoked for 12 months.
Earlier this month, two money exchangers in Hanoi were fined VND100 million each for trading only a few hundred US dollars.
Meanwhile, a banker from Sacombank said most banks now have an adequate supply of the greenback, thanks to supply from exporting companies and remittances.
Buying demand has stayed unchanged since most businesses prepared sources of foreign currencies in advance, or stopped buying since the Lunar New Year is only a week away, he said.
Last October, it was difficult for businesses to buy US dollars from banks, and those who could buy also had to suffer the high exchange rate of more than VND21,700 a dollar.
Sacombank now sells the greenback at VND21,060 a dollar, down by VND300 a dollar compared to the rate recorded in late December, 2011. The official listed price is VND21,036 a dollar.
Meanwhile, the interbank dollar exchange rate remained unchanged today, at VND20,828 a dollar for the last three weeks.
Last year, the dong was depreciated by more than 10 per cent, with the highest depreciation falling in mid February, when the rate was increased by 9.3 per cent compared to the VND18,932 rate that had been kept for the previous seven months in a row.
vir
|
