US Dollar eases against Vietnamese Dong but holds firm globally

The U.S. dollar edged lower against the Vietnamese dong on Friday morning, even as the greenback was on track for a second consecutive weekly gain against a basket of major global currencies.

Vietcombank sold the dollar at VND26,454, representing a 0.008% decrease from Thursday. On the unofficial market, the currency strengthened by 0.03% to approximately VND26,594. The State Bank of Vietnam adjusted its official reference rate lower by 0.008% to VND25,195.

Globally, the dollar's strength kept the Japanese yen near a 40-year low. The yen was flat at 161.82 to the dollar, just off a two-year nadir of 161.95 reached on Thursday. A move beyond 161.96 would mark its weakest level since 1986. According to Reuters, traders have reined in bets for Federal Reserve rate hikes after U.S. inflation data met forecasts and central bank officials sent mixed signals on future policy.

The dollar index, a measure of its value against six major peers, held at 101.46, not far from its strongest point since May 2025. The index was headed for its second straight weekly gain and is up 2.6% for the month.

In other currency markets, the euro was down 0.1% at $1.1361, while the British pound held steady at $1.3187. The Australian dollar eased 0.2% to $0.6899, and its New Zealand counterpart slipped 0.1% to $0.5646.

"After a sharp rise in the wake of last week’s FOMC meeting, the dollar has dropped back a little today and may be due a pause in the very near term," analysts from Capital Economics wrote in a research report. "But we think that the emerging monetary policy divergence ‌between the ⁠U.S. and Europe means that further gains for the greenback is on the cards for the second half of 2026."