USD exchange rate today (August 16): Domestic USD increases, world remains unchanged

Today's USD exchange rate (August 16): Early morning on August 16, 2023, the State Bank of Vietnam announced that the central exchange rate of the Vietnamese Dong against the USD increased by 33 dong, currently at 23,881 dong.

Meanwhile, in the US market, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the fluctuations of the US dollar against six major currencies (EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD, SEK, CHF), rose 0.02%, reaching 103.21.

Today's USD exchange rate worldwide

The US dollar was flat after data showed US retail sales rose more than expected in July, while the yuan fell to a nine-month low in the last trading session, following a surprise cut in China's benchmark interest rate by the central bank.

Chart showing the fluctuations of the DXY index over the past 24 hours. Image: Marketwatch

The U.S. Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.7% last month, demonstrating that demand remains stable despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes to curb inflation, thanks to strong wage growth from a tighter labor market.

Karl Schamotta, market strategist at Corpay, said: “The dollar is relatively stable amid weakening of many other currencies globally. The dollar rose more than 0.5% against the yuan, reaching a nine-month high of 7.3307 as the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) cut interest rates in an effort to boost a struggling economic recovery.”

John Velis, head of U.S. macro strategy at BNY Mellon Markets in New York, said: “I think the positive U.S. sales data has brought a sense of stability to investors.”

Against the Japanese yen, the US dollar rose to a new nine-month high of 145.865 before falling to a session low of 145.25.

Meanwhile, the British pound rose after data showed that UK basic wages increased at a record pace, raising concerns about inflation at the Bank of England.

Specifically, the British pound closed the trading session up more than 0.16%, at $1.2705, after data showed that British wages, excluding bonuses, in the three months to June were 7.8% higher than a year earlier. That was the highest annual growth rate since 2001.

However, despite a surprise rise in UK unemployment from 4.0% to 4.2%, currency traders still expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates by at least 25 basis points next month due to concerns that high wage increases will have an impact on the economy.

The euro remained unchanged at $1.09045.

USD exchange rate today, August 16, 2023: Domestic USD surges, global rate remains stable. (Illustration: Reuters)

Domestic USD exchange rate today

On the domestic market, at the end of the trading session on August 15th, the State Bank of Vietnam announced that the central exchange rate of the Vietnamese Dong against the US Dollar increased by 11 dong, currently standing at 23,848 dong.

* The reference exchange rate at the State Bank of Vietnam's exchange floor increased slightly for buying and selling, currently at: 23,400 VND - 25,025 VND.

USD exchange rates at commercial banks for buying and selling are as follows: