The State Bank of Vietnam dropped another US$600 million on keeping the local currency from breaching 25,450 dong to the dollar, according to ACB data. The bank has said that this brings the total forex reserves spent in a little over a month to US$2.5 billion.
The State Bank looks to be using its forex reserves as a stop gap until the US cuts interest rates which should take some heat out of the US dollar. That said, the earliest analysts are expecting a US rate cut is July but September is looking much more likely, according to Morgan Stanley.
At US$2.5 billion a month, and a wait of up to four months (and that is only an estimate it could still be longer) this could see Vietnam burn through a sizable chunk of its foreign currency reserves.
See also: The Dong’s Wild Ride: Unpacked