Vietnam announced Tuesday it was devaluing its currency by 2 per cent against the dollar. The State Bank of Vietnam said the reference rate for the dong would rise from 18,544 to 18,932 to the dollar. Banks are allowed to trade at up to 3 per cent on either side of the rate. The bank said it acted to contain Vietnam's trade deficit, which rose to 7.4 billion dollars during the first 7 months of the year, double that for the same period in 2009, dpa reported.
