Dollar softens against dong

Vietcombank sold the greenback at VND23,780, down 0.13% from Sunday.

Eximbank’s rate was stable at VND23,670.

The State Bank of Vietnam let its reference rate slide 0.1% to VND23,810.

The dollar was sold at VND23,750 on the black market, unchanged from Sunday.

It has gained over the dong by 0.21% since the beginning of the year.

Globally the dollar was on the defensive on Monday as investors scaled back expectations over how much further U.S. interest rates would rise after U.S. jobs data showed the smallest increase in 2-1/2 years, Reuters reported.

The Japanese yen was last more than 0.2% lower at 142.45 per dollar in early Asia trade, giving up some of its 1.4% gain from Friday.

The British pound firmed near an over one-year peak of $1.2850 hit on Friday and last traded $1.28325, as bets grow that stubborn inflation in the UK will force the Bank of England to raise interest rates to a 25-year high of 6.5% by December.

The euro dipped 0.07% to $1.0962, after having risen 0.7% on Friday, while the U.S. dollar index rose 0.06% to 102.36 but remained not far from Friday’s two-week low of 102.22.