The overall balance of payments showed a more positive trend in the third quarter of 2024, with the deficit narrowing significantly. However, persistent challenges remain, requiring focused and effective solutions for sustainable improvement. Narrower deficit in the balance of payments As per the latest data from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Vietnam’s balance of payments continued to record significant errors and omissions. These amounted to over US$4.8 billion in Q3-2024, bringing the total in the year’s first nine months to US$16.6 billion. Nearly half of this figure—over US$8.2 billion—was recorded in Q1 alone. While errors and omissions in Q3-2024 decreased by 18% compared to Q3-2023, the cumulative total for the first three quarters rose by 19.4%, primarily due to the unusually high figure in Q1. Despite the persistent errors and omissions, the overall balance of payments deficit in Q3-2024 was just US$59 million, a marked improvement from the US$6.1-billion deficit in Q2-2024 and significantly lower than the US$1.4 billion deficit recorded in Q3-2023. This improvement indicates a reduction in the SBV’s use of foreign exchange reserves to support the market, with the exchange rate between the Vietnam dong and the U.S. dollar also stabilizing during the quarter. Specifically, the […]