Dollar shoots up to new peak against dong in 2023

[Kim byoungil]

An employee counts U.S. banknotes at a bank in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

The U.S. dollar continued its climb against the Vietnamese dong Wednesday with a sharp increase as the safe-haven currency strengthens globally.

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND24,140, up 0.29% from Tuesday. This is the highest level the bank has sold the greenback this year.

VNDVietcombank's USD/VND exchange rateJan '23Feb '23Mar '23Apr '23May '23Jun '23Jul '23Aug '2323 50023 60023 70023 80023 90024 00024 10024 200Sunday, Jul 23, 2023● Value: 

The State Bank of Vietnam kept its reference rate stable at VND23,898.

The dollar was at VND24,060 on the black market, down 0.33%. It has gained over the dong by 1.73% since January 1.

Globally the U.S. dollar perched near a two-month peak on Wednesday as investors looked to the Federal Reserve chair's speech this week for cues on the path of monetary policy, while the yen loitered near 146 a dollar, keeping traders guessing on any intervention, Reuters reported.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, was at 103.55, not far from the two-month high of 103.71 it touched on Tuesday. The index is up 1.6% in August and is on course to snap its two-month losing streak.

A recent run of strong U.S. economic data has helped allay worries of an impending recession but with inflation still well above the Fed's target of 2%, investors are wary that the central bank may keep interest rates in a higher range for longer.