The central bank is responsible for monetary policy . During recent years, its performance in terms of keeping inflation low and the currency relatively stable has been impressively successful. For example, the inflation rate for the year 2001 is estimated to be 0.6 percent. Inflation in Vietnam since 1996 has normally been around 5 percent
| Exchange rates: Vietnam | |
| new dong (D) per US$1 | |
| Jan 2001 | 14,530 |
| Jan 2000 | 14,020 |
| Dec 1998 | 13,900 |
| Dec 1996 | 11,100 |
| 1995 | 11,193 |
| Oct 1994 | 11,000 |
| SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2001 [ONLINE]. | |
or less and has not exceeded 10 percent. While the Vietnamese dong has dropped in value in recent years, the decreases have been much less than in other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, and Indonesia. In the last 7 years, the dong has declined by only a total of 32 percent, from 11,000 dong to the dollar in 1994 to 14,530 dong to the dollar in January 2001.