Foreign exchange rates today, May 21: USD continues to depreciate

World currency exchange rates

In the US market, the US Dollar Index (DXY) measuring the greenback's fluctuations against six major currencies (EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD, SEK, CHF) decreased by 0.42% to 100.01.

The dollar continued to weaken in the last trading session, partly due to more cautious comments on the economy from US Federal Reserve officials, even as traders looked ahead to upcoming US-Japan talks, which could include currency discussions as part of a trade deal.

According to Reuters, the Trump administration's wave of tariffs this year has caused investors to reduce their exposure to US assets after a long period of market dominance. Although the USD has recovered slightly in recent sessions thanks to hopes of a US-China trade truce, the currency quickly came under new selling pressure after Moody's downgraded the US national credit rating by one notch.

"In terms of valuation, the US dollar still has a lot of room to fall," said George Vessey, chief foreign exchange and macro strategist at payments firm Convera.

The U.S. dollar index (.DXY) has fallen as much as 10.6% from its January peak, one of its steepest declines in three months. Speculators now hold a net short position of $17.32 billion in U.S. dollars, the most bearish since July 2023, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Part of the negative sentiment toward the dollar comes from the currency’s high valuation—it traded 22% above its 20-year average in January. The DXY is still about 10% above its 20-year average, and a further 10% drop would take the dollar to levels last seen during President Trump’s first term.

While investors and strategists have argued that the dollar is overvalued for years, betting against the currency has often resulted in losses because of the steady strength of the U.S. economy. But that may be changing.

Steve Englander, head of global G10 foreign exchange research at Standard Chartered (New York), said that while recent trade deals may temporarily calm markets, they do not address the long-term confidence issues facing the US.

“The story of the weakening dollar is not over yet,” Mr. Englander said.

Investors are also concerned about the long-term fiscal outlook for the United States. Analysts estimate that President Trump’s massive tax cuts could add between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to the national debt, already at $36.2 trillion, over the next decade.

Despite recent selling pressure, thanks to years of rising US asset prices, the world is still holding trillions of dollars in US stocks and Treasury bonds.

According to investors, selling pressure could increase from many regions as people start to question the safe-haven role of the USD - which has clearly declined recently.

Domestic foreign exchange rates

In the domestic market, at the beginning of the trading session on May 21, the State Bank announced the central exchange rate of the Vietnamese Dong against the USD decreased by 2 VND, currently at 24,968 VND.

The reference exchange rate at the State Bank's transaction office has slightly decreased, currently at: 23,770 VND - 26,166 VND.

USD exchange rates at commercial banks are as follows:

At Vietcombank , the USD exchange rate is 25,750 - 26,140 VND/USD, up 20 VND in both directions, compared to yesterday's trading session.

VIB Bank is buying USD cash at the lowest price: 1 USD = 25,340 VND; buying USD transfer at the lowest price: 1 USD = 25,400 VND

HSBC Bank is buying USD cash at the highest price: 1 USD = 25,829 VND

OCB Bank is buying USD transfers at the highest price: 1 USD = 25,830 VND

VIB Bank is selling USD cash at the lowest price: 1 USD = 25,760 VND; selling USD transfer at the lowest price: 1 USD = 25,760 VND

LPBank and OceanBank are selling USD cash at the highest price: 1 USD = 26,190 VND

NCB Bank is selling USD transfers at the highest price: 1 USD = 26,175 VND

In the "black market", the black market USD exchange rate on May 21, 2025 decreased by 11 VND in both buying and selling compared to yesterday's trading session, trading around 26,333 - 26,433 VND/USD.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/ty-gia-ngoai-te-hom-nay-21-5-dong-usd-tiep-tuc-truot-gia-253152.html