Exchange rates stable despite Fed rate hikes

Exchange rates remain stable after Fed rate hikes on Wednesday. - File Photo

The State Bank of Viet Nam this morning listed the daily reference rate at VND22,405 to a dollar, three dong lower than Wednesday’s rate.

The exchange rates at commercial banks did not see significant changes.

At Vietcombank, the buying rate was VND22,655 and the selling rate was VND22,725 at 10.30 am, 10 dong lower than Wednesday.

The exchange rates at MB Bank dropped from VND22,750 to a dollar on Wednesday to VND22,720 this morning.

At Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV), exchange rates saw no change compared with Wednesday, being listed at VND22,665 for buying rate and VND22,735 for selling rate.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday for the second time in three months, forecasting one more hike this year. The benchmark lending rate was lifted by a quarter percentage point to a target range of 1 per cent to 1.25 per cent.

Experts said that the State Bank of Viet Nam’s policies on exchange rates helped the market avoid external shocks, adding that the Fed rate hikes would not have significant impacts on VND/USD exchange rates.

The National Financial Supervisory Committee recently forecast the Fed rate hikes, but small increases each time would not insert significant pressure on exchange rates.

However, the committee warned that the exchange rates would be under pressure from high trade deficit in the remaining months of 2017.

Gold prices

The domestic gold prices remained stable despite huge fluctuations in gold prices in the global market.

At 10.45 am, SJC gold traded at VND36.33-VND36.39 million per tael at Bao Tin Minh Chau, unchanged from the closing prices Wednesday and VND36.23 to VND36.43 million at SJC, VND10,000 lower per tael.

The gold price in the global market saw huge fluctuations after the Fed rate hikes. It even rose by $15 to touch $1,288 per ounce but decreased after that to close at $1,260.

At 11 am (local time), gold was trading at $1,263.6 per ounce on Nymex and $1,264.10 on Kitco.