Dollar rates continue to soar at the local commercial banks on April 8 — Photo cafef.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Dollar rates soared again within a week at all domestic commercial banks on April 8, even as it rallied in other Asian markets.

The dollar exchange rates remained unchanged during the first two days of the week in Viet Nam. On April 8, the highest rates listed by commercial banks were only eight dong less than the current ceiling price set by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV).

The highest rates were seen at ACB, which bought each dollar for VND21,570 and sold it for VND21,650. Compared with Tuesday's rates, it was an increase of 20 dong per dollar in both the buying and selling rates.

Vietinbank bought the dollar for VND21,585 and sold it for VND21,645, an increase of 20 dong in each rate.

Techcombank listed the buying/selling rates as VND21,570 and VND21,655 respectively, an increase of 30 dong each.

Eximbank also added 15 dong in each dollar rate, listing the buying and selling rates as 21,565 and VND21,645, respectively.

At the same time, Vietcombank increased both rates by 30 dong, with the buying and selling rates per dollar being VND21,580 and VND21,640 respectively.

BIDV listed the buying and selling rates of each dollar at VND21,585 and VND21,645 respectively, while other commercial banks listed them between VND21,565 and VND21,570, and between VND21,645 and VND21,655, respectively.

The rates in the flea market were a bit lower than those in the local commercial banks. The Quoc Trinh Gold and Jewellery Company on Ha Trung Street, one of the most popular places for money exchange in Ha Noi, bought each dollar for VND21,630 and sold each for VND21,650 on the same day.

Though the rates in the local banks approached the ceiling price, there was no reaction from the central bank.

As of January 7, the SBV increased the inter-bank exchange rate from VND21,246 to VND21,458 per dollar. With an effective exchange rate with a one per cent margin, the ceiling rate was VND21,673 per dollar.

SBV has repeatedly confirmed to the local media that the demand and supply of foreign currency were stable, adding that speculation by the local investors had led to a rise in the rates. The central bank confirmed the rates would not be increased any further for now, and that the bank planned to increase the VND/USD exchange rate by no more than two per cent in 2015.

Speaking to baodautu.vn, economist Nguyen Tri Hieu agreed with SBV's opinion, thinking that the rise this week was caused only by psychological factors, as more than 20 countries had increased their dollar exchange rates to help exports.

Hieu did not think it was time for any increase in the VND/USD exchange. He had said earlier that though an increase would benefit exports, it would simultaneously have a greater negative impact on the whole economy.

Hieu told the newspaper that with a foreign currency reserve of $36 billion, SBV could pump in dollars to balance the local demand, instead of changing the rate. It had done the same in late 2014, he said.

Reuters.com reported that the dollar stood tall in other Asian markets on April 8, after rallying overnight on bargain-hunting by currency bulls, who scooped up the greenback following the tumble induced by weak American non-farm payrolls late last week.— VNS