An employee counts U.S. banknotes at a bank in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy
The U.S. dollar fell against the Vietnamese dong Monday morning while holding firm against major currencies.
Vietcombank sold the greenback at VND26,170, down 0.11% from the weekend. The currency rose 0.04% to VND26,490 on the black market.
The State Bank of Vietnam lowered its reference rate by 0.01% to VND24,960.
Globally, the dollar made a steady start on Monday as investors prepared for a week packed with economic data that may give a first glimpse of whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war is hitting home, Reuters reported.
The dollar index was steady at 99.695, above last week’s low of 97.923, while the euro held at $1.1350 and short of its recent top at $1.15783.
At 143.57 yen and $1.1360 per euro the greenback has, for now, found a footing, while staying on course for its largest monthly fall in nearly 2-1/2 years as Trump has rattled confidence in the dependability of U.S. assets.
It is down more than 4% on both the euro and the yen through April, though bounced at the end of last week on an apparent conciliatory shift in the tone of U.S.-China relations.
The Australian dollar is trading pretty close to recent highs and was just shy of $0.64 on Monday morning. The New Zealand dollar likewise hovered just shy of $0.60.
Last week both sides seemed to pull back from the precipice, with the Trump administration signalling openness to reducing tariffs and China exempting some imports from its 125% levies.
“The next big chapter here will be whether all this volatility has hit real-world decisions – especially in the U.S. jobs market,” said ING’s global head of markets, Chris Turner.
