Regional currencies surged against the greenback over the past week, with some backing down after a suspected massive intervention by Japanese monetary authorities to soften the yen.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen stood at 107.02-05 to the dollar late Friday, slightly off from 106.90 in Singapore earlier when Tokyo trading was closed for a New Year holiday break.
The Japanese unit had tumbled nearly two percent earlier Friday following suspected massive selling intervention by Japanese monetary authorities, ending a winning streak over nine trading days.
It fell from a high of 106.18 to the dollar to a low of 108.30 to the dollar before returning to calm at the 107 level.
But despite the Japanese government's determination to prevent the yen's further appreciation, many market players believed that massive US current account deficits would keep the sentiment dollar-bearish.
"We will continue taking appropriate action against the market movements that do not reflect economic fundamentals," a senior finance ministry official said.
Mitsuru Sahara, vice president at UFJ Bank's foreign exchange division, admitted some impact of the intervention.
"We don't think the dollar's weakness will change in the long run but in the short term it is difficult for any players to stay on the yen-buying side," he said.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper said, however, that "domestic exporters, who have been slow in securing yen funds, are seen likely to join in yen-buying" in the coming week.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian currency ended the week at 77.5 US cents, just down on a six-and-a-half year high of 77.8 US cents achieved early Friday and more than two US cents up on the previous week's close of 75.23.
The unit was tipped to continue its positive start to 2004 next week, with some dealers predicting it would break the 78 US cent barrier, following on from a 34 percent rise against the greenback in 2003.
National Australia Bank strategist Michael Jansen said he could not rule out the Australian dollar kicking above 78 US cents next week as it benefited from the US dollar's woes.
"Investors generally are still very well disposed to the Australian dollar," he said. "It's mainly a US dollar move but there are enough discreet positives in the Aussie dollar right now for investors to think it should outperform.
"As long as it holds above 76.50 US cents in the short-term, it should continue to trade pretty solidly."
The bulk of currency strategists, including Westpac and the National Australia bank, expect the Aussie to climb to around 80 US cents before tailing off as a cooling housing sector halts rapid growth in the domestic economy and as the global economic recovery gains momentum.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: New Zealand's unit tested six-and-a-half-year highs over the past week, closing at 67.90 US cents, sharply up from 65.62 cents a week earlier.
The kiwi dollar, which last year soared 25 percent, has already risen 3.0 percent in the first week of 2004.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The US dollar was at 1.6955 Singapore dollars on Friday from 1.7002 the previous week.
HONG KONG DOLLAR: The US-dollar pegged Hong Kong dollar was at 7.7626 Friday, little changed from 7.7629 a week earlier.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah closed the week stronger at 8,335-8,345 to the dollar, compared to the previous week's close of 8,448-8,455.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The peso was higher at 55.290 to the dollar in late trading Friday, compared to 55.50 on January 2.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won strengthened to 1,181.90 won per dollar Friday, compared with 1,195.0 won a week earlier, as the greenback remained under pressure on all fronts world-wide and foreigners snapped up South Korean shares.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar strengthened over the week to close at 33.788 against the greenback Friday from 33.976 a week earlier.
THAI BAHT: The baht closed Friday at 39.00-02 to the dollar compared to last week's close of 39.60-70.
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