An employee counts U.S. banknotes at a bank in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung
The U.S. dollar weakened against the Vietnamese dong Wednesday morning while holding mostly steady against major currencies.
Vietcombank sold the greenback at VND26,358, down 0.01% from Tuesday. On the black market, the currency slipped 0.23% to around VND26,728.
The State Bank of Vietnam lowered its reference rate by 0.01% to VND25,103.
Globally, the U.S. dollar lingered near six-week lows on Wednesday, surrendering nearly all the gains it had made since the Middle East war erupted as hopeful signs of another round of talks between the U.S. and Iran lifted risk appetite, Reuters reported.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six units, was at 98.109, near its lowest in over six weeks. The euro bought $1.1793, hovering near its highest since March 2. Sterling was at $1.3574.
The Aussie was steady at $0.7124 while the Japanese yen was little changed at 158.88 per U.S. dollar in early trading.
Washington imposed a blockade on Iranian ports after the collapse of weekend negotiations but hopes grew as U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday talks to end the war could resume in Pakistan in the coming days.
“Cross-asset moves suggest investors are increasingly pricing the conflict as a temporary energy shock that could fade if diplomacy holds,” OCBC strategists said in a note. “The broader signal was decisively risk-on rather than defensive positioning.”
