Vietnam devalues currency by 1%, second official cut this year

HANOI - The State Bank of Vietnam today devalued the VND by 1%, its second currency adjustment  this year, taking the official rate to 21,673/USD. The +/-1% trading band is maintained, so the new range will be 21,458-21,890.

ANZ Bank says today’s devaluation did not come as a surprise, and that the spot rate had been trading closely to the top side of the +/-1% band this week. “We maintain that pressure on the dong has emanated from the deterioration in the trade balance, even though FDI inflows have remained robust,” ANZ said in a briefing note.
“We maintain that the VND could reach 22,050 by year-end, taking the annual depreciation spot to 3.1%, compared to the 1.4% decline in 2014.” www.live.anz.com (ATI).