Dollar starts week with marginal gain

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND23,825 Monday, up 0.02% from Sunday.

Eximbank maintained its rate at VND23,670, and Techcombank VND23,840.

The State Bank of Vietnam raised its reference rate by 0.08% to VND23,753.

The dollar was sold at VND23,660 on the black market, unchanged from Sunday.

The dollar has gained over the dong by 0.40% since the beginning of the year.

Globally the dollar and euro made firm starts on Monday to a week full of central bank meetings, while the yen was struggling as investors expect the Bank of Japan will be the odd one out as policymakers hike rates in Europe and the U.S., Reuters reported.

The yen had dived on the dollar and crosses last week following a Reuters report that the Bank of Japan was leaning towards keeping its yield curve control policy unchanged, though volatility gauges have spiked as the meeting looms as a risk.

The yen was nursing losses at 141.71 to the dollar early on Monday and at 157.58 to the euro, it wasn’t much above last week’s 15-year low at 158.04, nor was it far from last week’s record low on the Swiss franc.

The euro held at $1.1128 on Monday. The U.S. dollar index was steady at 101.04.

“The last week left markets believing in a soft-landing scenario for the U.S. markets where the (Fed) ends its hikes … and then sees a steady drop in CPI without a recession,” said Bob Savage, head of markets strategy at BNY Mellon.