VINACHEM

The US dollar has continued to appreciate against the Vietnamese đồng in recent days, but experts are not concerned about the rise, saying the central bank will take effective measures to get the foreign exchange market under control.

The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) on Thursday set the daily reference exchange rate at VNĐ23,051, up VNĐ5 from the day earlier.

With the current trading band of +/- 3 per cent, the ceiling rate applied by commercial banks for the day is VNĐ23,742 and the floor rate is VNĐ22,359.

Commercial banks also adjusted their rates up by some VNĐ20-40 per dollar on Thursday after increasing the rates significantly in the first three days of this week. Compared with last Friday, the dollar listed at commercial banks on Thursday appreciated by some VNĐ120 against the đồng.

Vietcombank and BIDV posted the buying rate at VNĐ23,340 and the selling rate at VNĐ23,460, up VNĐ30 from the same time the day earlier.

Techcombank posted VNĐ23,315 per dollar for buying and VNĐ23,450 for selling, up by VNĐ30 from the day ago.

However, economists said that there was nothing to worry about the depreciation of the đồng.

Phạm Hồng Hải, CEO of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), said the increase would not have a big impact on the market, explaining as the picture of the US-China trade war becomes clearer, the market would stabilise.

According to Hải, with the current high foreign exchange reserves (at some US$69 billion), the SBV will be able to ensure market liquidity to help ensure market stability.

Sharing this view, chief economist at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam Cấn Văn Lực said there was nothing to worry about the increase in exchange rates, as the central bank has much experience in dealing with this matter, and the dollar is only one among the eight currency baskets managed by the bank every day.

SBV Deputy Governor Nguyễn Thị Hồng on Wednesday also affirmed the central bank would intervene to stabilise the foreign exchange market if necessary. VNS