On 24/6, the State Bank of Vietnam announced the central exchange rate at 25,058 VND, an increase of 30 VND compared to yesterday. With a 5% margin against the central exchange rate, commercial banks are allowed to buy and sell USD within the range of 23,805 - 26,310 VND.

Accordingly, banks today raised the USD price to the ceiling, the highest level ever. Vietcombank increased the buying and selling price of USD to 25,980 - 26,310 VND, an increase of over 30 VND compared to yesterday. At Vietinbank, the USD price rose to 25,995 - 26,305 VND, while at Eximbank it was 25,950 - 26,310 VND.

Compared to the beginning of the year, the USD price in the official market is nearly 760 VND higher, equivalent to an increase of over 2.9%. Currently, the USD price at banks is quite close to the USD price in the free market. Foreign exchange bureaus are trading around 26,320 - 26,420 VND per USD.

Meanwhile, domestic gold prices continued to move sideways this morning and traded below 120 million VND per luong. This morning, Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) listed the price of gold bars at 117.7 - 119.7 million VND per luong. SJC bought and sold plain gold rings at 113.7 - 116.3 million VND per luong.

According to the strategic report of the Global Economics and Markets Research department of UOB Bank, if a trade agreement with the US is not reached, the Vietnamese dong will remain weak against the USD. The dong is likely to continue to fluctuate at a weak level until the end of Quarter III and begin to recover from Quarter IV to the beginning of next year.

Meanwhile, in the gold market, UOB believes that safe-haven demand continues to be maintained, along with central banks steadily increasing their gold holdings, expectations of a weaker USD, and the possibility of capital returning to gold ETFs in the US. All these factors create positive support for gold prices, and UOB forecasts that the price of this precious metal could reach 3,600 USD per ounce by the beginning of next year.

Quynh Trang