Dollar weakens against dong at banks

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND25,300, down 0.32% from the weekend.

At unofficial exchange points, the greenback rose 0.08% to VND25,700.

The State Bank of Vietnam’s reference rate inched down by 0.004% to VND24,241.

The dollar has increased against the dong by 3.6% since the beginning of the year.

Globally, Japan’s yen hit mid-January highs against the dollar at Asia open on Monday, as markets extended moves triggered last week after weak U.S. labor data stoked recession worries and expectations of deeper rate cuts by the Fed, Reuters reported.

The safe-haven and carry-funding favorite, the yen, was traded at 145.43 yen , up 0.8% versus the dollar, after hitting a mid-January peak of 145.28 in early deals.

The euro was flat at $1.091, the dollar index was nearly flat too at 103.17.

Treasury yields have been falling quite sharply since last week, when the Federal Reserve kept the policy rate in its current 5.25% to 5.50% range while Chair Jerome Powell opened the possibility of a rate cut in September.

But by Friday, after data showed the unemployment rate jumped, sparking chatter U.S. economy could be heading for a recession, expectations for rate cuts deepened.