The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV)’s exchange rate policy was aimed at ensuring macroeconomic stability, not just export growth, said Nguyen Thi Hong, the bank’s deputy governor.

Hong made the statement following suggestions that the dong should be further weakened against the US dollar to support the country’s exports, especially given the recent devaluation of the Chinese yuan.

According to Hong, the SBV had been monitoring several currencies as well as the yuan to set its daily reference exchange rates.

Besides managing the forex market based on the daily reference rate, Hong said that SBV was also looking at other factors such as interest rates and liquidity, as well as fiscal policies to ensure the country meets its macroeconomic targets.

The SBV reported that by August 1, the central bank’s daily reference exchange rate of the dollar against the dong had risen by 1.1 per cent compared to the end of last year, while with the current trading band of +/- 3 per cent, the inter-bank rate was up 2.5 per cent.

The rise was under control and in line with other currencies in the region and the world, Hong said.

On August 2, the SBV announced a daily reference exchange rate of VND22,666 per dollar, down VND3 against the previous day.

The ceiling rate applied for commercial banks during the day was from VND23,345-21,987.

Opening hour rates at commercial banks saw slight fluctuations.

The rates listed at Vietcombank remained unchanged compared to Wednesday at VND23,245 for buying and VND23,325 for selling.

BIDV added VND10 to both rates, buying the greenback at VND23,250 per dollar and selling at VND23,330.

Meanwhile, Techcombank listed the buying rate at VND23,225, down VND5, and selling rate at VND23,335, up VND5. — VNS