This morning, April 20, the central bank listed the central exchange rate at VND24,260/USD, stable compared to yesterday.
The USD price at banks did not increase but remained at a record high. In which, Vietcombank traded the USD at VND25,163 (buying) and VND25,473 (selling).
Other banks listed the USD buying price quite high – VND25,295/USD, while the selling price was VND25,470/USD, lower than Vietcombank.
In the free market, the USD price is being traded by foreign exchange points around VND25,770(buying), VND25,870 (selling)/USD – an increase of about VND40 compared to yesterday.
Thus, the USD price in the market has not changed much after the State Bank announced that it would start selling foreign currency into the market to cool down the exchange rate.
From the beginning of 2024 to now, the USD/VND exchange rate has increased by about 4.9% in the context of the currencies of many other countries depreciating strongly against the USD, ranging from 3-9%.
The deputy general director of a joint-stock bank said that “it is necessary to observe more” the exchange rate after the management agency intervened in selling foreign currency.
USD prices at banks remain high.
Currently, the State Bank’s foreign exchange intervention method is to sell USD to credit institutions with negative foreign exchange status to convert foreign exchange status to 0, with a selling price of VND25,450/USD.
Although the exchange rate is under pressure, the State Bank said that basically, market liquidity is smooth, and all legitimate foreign exchange needs are fully met.
Meanwhile, pressure from the exchange rate is negatively impacting the stock market. Despite information about the State Bank’s intervention to sell the exchange rate, the VN-Index still plunged nearly 19 points at the end of the session on April 19 and closed the trading week at its lowest level after 4 consecutive losing sessions (losing more than 100 points).
According to Construction Investment Securities Company of Vietnam (CSI), the USD price has shown no signs of cooling down as the conflict between Israel and Iran tended to escalate over the weekend, which significantly impacted the psychology of investors’ actions. This led to the Asian stock market turmoil, and the Vietnamese stock market also plunged.
The trading session on April 19 ended a very negative trading week with four consecutive strong declines, breaking through the support levels of 1,180 – 1,200 points of VN-Index.
Referring to the upcoming exchange rate trend, experts from Dragon Capital said that exchange rate pressure would continue in the coming months, as the second quarter is the peak season for dividend payments; the USD could continue to strengthen in the international market.
“The exchange rate situation could improve, especially when the US Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates later this year,” – said the expert from Dragon Capital.
