USD exchange rate today 5/20/2025: USD weakens as Fed is cautious

World USD exchange rate on May 20, 2025

The USD Index (DXY), which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of major currencies, was trading at 100.32 as of 4:30 a.m. (Vietnam time).

The US Dollar Index (DXY) continued its downward trend. The USD weakened as investors were cautious about the monetary policy outlook of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), especially after credit rating agency Moody's unexpectedly downgraded the US credit rating from the highest level 'AAA' to 'AA1'.

Several Fed officials on Monday expressed reservations about the policy outlook. Governor Raphael Bostic said the downgrade could have widespread effects and that it would take another three to six months to assess the stability of the macroeconomic environment. He noted that prolonged tariff uncertainty could impact consumer behavior.

Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson said the Fed faces risks from both sides: keeping prices stable while ensuring the labor market is not affected. Meanwhile, Governor John Williams said it will take at least June or July before there is enough data to give clear guidance, implying that the possibility of a rate cut before the summer has been virtually eliminated.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of the Fed cutting interest rates in June is only 8.3%, and slightly increased to 36.8% for the meeting at the end of July.

A report from Moody's last weekend was a key factor that worried investors. The credit rating agency said that although the US economy is still financially strong, growing fiscal risks make the highest credit rating no longer appropriate.

This could push bond yields higher as investors demand a higher risk premium to hold US government debt, a factor that makes it difficult for the Fed to cut interest rates while free-market rates continue to climb.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.51% from 4.3% last Friday, marking a significant bounce that signals widespread caution in financial markets.

While European stock indexes were heading for positive gains at the end of the trading day, US stocks were still unable to break out. Although they have somewhat narrowed their losses, major indexes have yet to regain green, reflecting investors' defensive sentiment amid macro uncertainty.

Domestic USD exchange rate today

The central exchange rate today (May 20) was increased by 10 VND to 24,970 VND/USD by the State Bank compared to the listed rate at the end of last week.

Applying a 5% margin, the current USD exchange rate that commercial banks are allowed to trade is from 23,772 - 26,168 VND/USD.

The reference buying and selling exchange rate is also kept by the State Bank Exchange in the range of 23,772 - 26,168 VND/USD.

In the "black market", the black market USD exchange rate as of 4:30 a.m. on May 20, 2025 remained unchanged compared to yesterday in both directions compared to yesterday's trading session, trading around 25,633 - 25,760 VND/USD.

Buying direction:

VietinBank is the bank with the strongest increase, up to 180 VND, bringing the USD buying price to 25,590 VND/USD.

Techcombank increased slightly by 8 VND, to 25,743 VND/USD.

BIDV kept the buying price at 25,770 VND/USD compared to yesterday.

Meanwhile, Vietcombank and Eximbank both decreased sharply by 30 VND, to 25,740 and 25,750 VND/USD respectively.

Sacombank also slightly adjusted down 11 VND, currently at 25,766 VND/USD.

Sales direction:

Techcombank continued to be the unit with the strongest adjustment in the selling direction, increasing by 28 VND, to 26,120 VND/USD.

VietinBank also increased by 30 VND, bringing the selling price to 26,100 VND/USD.

BIDV keeps the selling price at 26,130 VND/USD.

Meanwhile, banks such as Vietcombank, Eximbank, and Sacombank all reduced by 11-30 VND, showing their hesitation in adjusting selling prices.