On February 23, the central exchange rate was quoted by the State Bank at 23,996 VND/USD, an increase of 15 VND/USD compared to yesterday. Since the beginning of the year, the central exchange rate has increased by about 36 VND/USD.
The USD price at banks continues to rise after continuous increases in recent days. Currently, Vietcombank buys USD at 24,420 VND/USD and sells at 24,760 VND/USD. Eximbank quotes USD buying at 24,460 VND/USD and selling at 24,770 VND/USD, an increase of 10 VND/USD compared to yesterday and an increase of 80 VND/USD in the past 2 days.
USD price in free market has been increasing rapidly in recent days
Since the beginning of the year, the USD price at banks has increased by about 270 VND/USD (equivalent to an increase of about 1.09%). This is a relatively high increase in the exchange rate in recent times.
It’s worth noting that not only in banks, but also the USD price in the free market has experienced a sharp increase. Currently, the free-market USD price at some foreign exchange points in Ho Chi Minh City is trading at 25,250 VND/USD for buying and 25,320 VND/USD for selling, an increase of 30 VND for each USD compared to yesterday.
Within the past week, the free-market USD price has increased by about 300 VND. And since the beginning of the year, the free-market USD price has increased by 620 VND/USD (an increase of about 2.5%).
According to reporters’ observations, the USD/VND exchange rate had a strong increase in the first month of the year but then cooled down before the Lunar New Year. However, the exchange rate has reversed and increased in the past few days.
A financial expert in Ho Chi Minh City is also puzzled, unable to explain why the free-market USD price keeps rising continuously despite no sudden surge in demand.
“I’ve consulted some gold shops and received information that there aren’t many customers asking to buy USD to hold. It’s not excluded that there could be a phenomenon of hoarding free-market USD to import gold through border trade, in the context of the prices of 24K gold rings and jewelry continuously being higher by 3-4 million VND/tael compared to the world market in the past period” – this expert raised the question.
Looking further ahead, experts from MB Securities Company (MBS) predict that in 2024, when global monetary policies begin to loosen, the USD is expected to depreciate broadly and reduce pressure on the domestic exchange rate.
The exchange rate in 2024 will fluctuate in the range of 23,800 – 24,300 VND/USD and continue to be supported by factors including trade surplus, positive FDI capital disbursement, stable remittance inflows, strong international tourism recovery, etc.
