An employee counts U.S. banknotes at a bank in Hanoi, Nov. 14, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung
The U.S. dollar strengthened against the Vietnamese dong Friday morning as it dipped against major currencies.
Vietcombank sold the greenback at VND26,358, up 0.01% from Thursday. On the black market, the currency rose 0.26% to around VND27,975.
The State Bank of Vietnam hiked its reference rate by 0.01% to VND25,103.
Globally, the dollar retreated in early Asia trade on Friday, leading declines among major currencies as investors lacking official data on the U.S. labor market seized upon signs of weakness in private sector surveys, Reuters reported.
Private sector data showed that the U.S. economy shed jobs in October in the government and retail sectors, while cost-cutting and the adoption of artificial intelligence by businesses led to a surge in announced layoffs.
“U.S. Challenger jobs data indicated a spike in U.S. job cuts, suggesting a possible cooling in U.S. labor market conditions,” financial services firm Westpac wrote in a research report.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.5% to 99.674, reversing its gains so far this month as bets mounted on a cut at the Fed’s next meeting on Dec. 10.
Against the yen, the dollar traded at 153.17 yen, 0.1% firmer compared to late U.S. levels. The Australian dollar fetched $0.6479, while the kiwi traded 0.1% firmer at $0.5635.
Sterling traded at $1.3135, flat so far on the day. The euro was also little changed so far in Asia, trading around a one-week high at $1.1550.
