Vietnam's central bank on Wednesday hiked interest rates as it tries to calm inflation, which rose at the fastest pace in six months in November. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) also moved to devalue the Vietnamese dong as concerns over the impact of the global slowdown on the economy have weighed on the currency. The bank is to raise rates to 8.0 percent from December 1 as it aims to 'contribute to macroeconomic stabilisation, control inflation and maintain sustainable economic growth in 2010', it said in an online statement. The news comes as the General Statistics Office said consumer prices rose 4.35 percent year-on-year in November, the biggest increase since May. The main factor behind the rise was an 8.4 percent jump in housing and construction prices due to government stimulus spending on infrastructure projects aimed at countering the impact of the global economic slump. The SBV set the interbank exchange rate at 17,961 dong for one US dollar from Thursday, against 17,034 Wednesday. Patrick Bennett, forex strategist with Societe Generale, said the pressure on the dong has been forcing the central bank to run down its dollar reserves but that the depletion may now become less pressing. On the black market the dollar traded at up to 19,000 dong on Wednesday. The bank also said it will on Thursday tighten to 3.0 percent from 5.0 percent the trading band for buying and selling US dollars by commercial banks. Vietnam said it expects economic growth of around 5 percent this year, which would be the worst performance in a decade. The government is also aiming to contain inflation at 7.0 percent this year, after hitting 23 percent in 2008. 