The yen ended the week lower against the US dollar, despite a mid-week rise, with investors poised for Japanese intervention to keep the local currency weak.
Trading was thin in the region due to the Lunar New Year holidays but among other currencies in the Asia Pacific, the Australian dollar rebounded.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen weakened against the greenback as dollar-selling pressure was curbed by expectations of intervention by Japanese authorities.
The Japanese unit stood at 106.03-06 to the dollar late Friday, slightly down from 105.95-98 to the dollar a week earlier, dealers said.
"Japanese authorities seem to be placing dollar bids below the 106 yen level," said IFR Forex Watch currency analyst Haruya Ida.
Japan has been intervening heavily in the market to prevent the persistent rise of the yen, which hurts exporter earnings.
The yen had rebounded mid-week on market scepticism about US President George W. Bush's pledge in his State of the Union address on Tuesday to halve his country's budget deficit in five years, dealers said.
The market's attention is focused on a meeting on Monday in Brussels among deputies of Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bank governors, dealers said. A full G7 meeting is scheduled for the next weekend in Florida.
The yen is "prone to upward pressure" amid expectations yen-selling intervention by Japanese monetary authorities ahead of the G7 meeting, the business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on its Internet edition.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar is expected to move higher next week as it is dragged along in the wake of the euro, dealers said.
The currency ended the week at 77.71 US cents, more than half a cent up from 77.01 US cents the same time a week earlier.
Macquarie Bank divisional director Geoff Bowmer said the Australian currency was poised to challenge recent highs, although the week would start slowly with the Australia Day public holiday Monday.
"The big picture story is the euro is stronger and the Aussie travels in tandem with the euro," Bowmer said.
He said rhetoric from European Central Bank officials was helping support the euro's recent strength.
"Various European officials are saying they don't like the European currency strength, but at the same time they are also not telling the market that they are going to do anything about it," he said.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar continued its gains against the US dollar over the past week, closing at 67.70 US cents, up from 67.29 cents a week earlier.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The US dollar was at 1.7030 Singapore dollars on Wednesday from 1.6989 on January 16. Financial markets in the city-state were closed Thursday and Friday due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah closed the week lower at 8,400-8,410 to the dollar compared with the previous week's close of 8,350-8,360.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The peso was lower at 55.75 to the dollar in late trading Friday, compared with 55.54 on January 16.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won weakened to 1,188 won per dollar by Tuesday, compared with 1,186 won per dollar on Friday of the previous week, before the financial markets closed for Lunar New Years Day holidays.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar shed 0.1 percent over the week to close at 33.719 against the greenback Tuesday amid central bank intervention and rebound of the US dollar. The currency closed at 33.685 the previous Friday.
The market is closed January 21-26 for the Lunar New Year.
THAI BAHT: The baht dropped against the greenback over the past week due to Friday's confirmation of an outbreak of bird flu in the kingdom and amid thin trading due to the Lunar New year.
The baht closed Friday at 39.12-14 baht to the dollar compared to the previous week's close of 38.95-97.
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