Vietnam Bonds Rise for Eighth Day on Rate Outlook; Dong Steady
Vietnam’s five-year bonds gained for an eighth day, pushing the yield to a seven-week low, on speculation interest rates will drop further as inflation slows. The dong was little changed.
Consumer-price gains eased to 5.35 percent in July, a 32- month low, according to government data. The central bank has cut its key refinance rate five times this year to 10 percent from 15 percent to help stimulate the economy.
“Interest rates are expected to continue to fall as inflation remains under control,” Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam analysts including Hanoi-based Hoang Nu Ngoc Thuy and Nguyen Thu Linh, wrote in a research note yesterday. Yields will only drop slightly or stay at current levels because the “supply of bonds will still be very large” due to the State Treasury’s plan to sell about 40 trillion dong ($1.9 billion) of new securities before end of the year, they wrote.
The yield on the benchmark notes fell two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 9.67 percent, the lowest level since June 18, according to a daily fixing from banks compiled by Bloomberg.
The dong was little changed at 20,858 per dollar as of 3:58 p.m. in Hanoi, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The State Bank of Vietnam set the currency’s reference rate at 20,828, unchanged since December 26, according to its website. The dong is allowed to trade as much as 1 percent on either side of the rate.
Category: Finance
