The U.S. dollar gained over the Vietnamese dong on the black market Friday morning as it traded near a two-week high against major currencies.
The greenback went up 0.25% to around VND26,635 at unofficial exchange points. Vietcombank kept its exchange rate steady at VND26,150.
The State Bank of Vietnam lowered its reference rate by 0.004% to VND25,065.
Globally, the U.S. dollar steadied near a two-week high on Friday, poised for its strongest weekly performance since November as a rout in stocks driven by AI-spending concerns rattled investors, Reuters reported.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six other units, was at 97.961, hovering near the highest since Jan. 23. The index is set for a 1% increase for the week, its steepest rise since the middle of November.
The euro was at $1.1784 after the European Central Bank left interest rates on hold as expected on Thursday and played down the impact of dollar moves on its future decisions.
Sterling was nursing steep losses in early Asian hours and stood at $1.3520 after dropping nearly 1% in the previous session.
The yen was a shade stronger in early trading at 156.74 ahead of a national election over the weekend where a victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could be on the cards.
