Dollar continues to decline against dong

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND23,640, down 0.04% from Wednesday. Its rate still hovers around a seven-week low.

Techcombank lowered the rate by 0.06% to VND23,652. Eximbank maintained the greenback at VND23,670.

The State Bank of Vietnam kept its reference rate unchanged at VND23,603.

Unofficial exchange points sold the greenback at VND23,550, same as Wednesday.

The dollar has depreciated against the dong by 0.38% since the beginning of the year.

Globally the U.S. dollar was on the front foot on Thursday as receding concerns over the banking sector helped improve risk sentiment, with investors switching their attention to the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation, Reuters reported.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, rose 0.097% at 102.73, after gaining 0.19% overnight. The index though was on course to clock a 2% decline for March due to market tumult induced by problems in the banking industry.

“The broader risk sentiment appears sustained as bank contagion concerns continued to fade and a rally in China equities grabs some attention,” said Christopher Wong, a currency strategist at OCBC in Singapore.

“While risk sentiment somewhat continued to hold up this week, we expect month-end flows alongside risk-on, risk-off flows to drive two-way trade.”