The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has sold roughly 1.1 billion USD as of December 1 to stabilise Vietnam's foreign exchange market.

Dau Tu Chung Khoan (Securities Investment) newspaper quoted officials of commercial banks as confirming this move.

Phan Thi Thanh Binh, ANZ Vietnam acting chief executive officer, told the newspaper that the SBV has been selling dollar in previous days following an increase in the US dollar-Vietnamese dong exchange rate in previous weeks.

As of early this week, the foreign exchange market has stabilised because of the SBV move and low dollar demands at the start of the month, Binh said, adding that the exchange rate would further slide if the SBV continued its policy of selling the greenback in the coming days.

Binh also predicted the foreign exchange market to become less volatile from now till year-end because of the SBV move. She revealed that volatility would depend on supply and demand instead of psychological factors and cited the country's balance of payments surplus.

Commercial banks' foreign exchange rate has increased significantly in previous weeks and remained high at 21,400 VND per dollar. But Binh explained that this was normal, as it reflected supply and demand as well as the market's expectations.

On December 4, commercial banks' foreign exchange rate declined, especially for dollar purchases.

Vietcombank quoted the rate at 21,330 VND to 21,380 VND, a 15-dong decrease against that of the previous day. ACB and Eximbank listed the rate at 21,320 VND to 21,390 VND, a 30-dong decrease in purchase price.

Agribank listed the rate at 21,325 VND to 21,385 VND, a 15-dong decrease in purchase price and 25-dong decrease in sales price, while Techcombank listed the rate at 21,300 VND to 21,390 VND, a 40-dong decrease in purchase price and 10-dong decrease in sales price.

VNA/VNN