The Japanese yen strengthened against the dollar during the week, led by expectations Tokyo would soften its intervention, pulling other currencies up with it.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen gained ground against the greenback during the week on growing expectations that Japan will not intervene to support the currency as aggressively as before, dealers said.
The Japanese currency stood at 107.12 to the dollar Friday afternoon, up from 111.00 the previous week.
"Investors bought the yen amid speculation that the Japanese authorities' stance on intervention has softened," said Kazuhiro Kaneko, dealer at Trust and Custody Service Banking.
"If the authorities do not intervene, the dollar will fall further to the 105 yen level," he said.
Analysts said active investment flows from foreign investors into Japanese stocks would also put pressure on the yen to rise further.
Japan spent 3.34 trillion yen buying dollars in February following intervention of some 7.15 trillion yen in January to prevent the yen from strengthening.
Japan has been intervening to stem the yen's rise against the dollar in a bid to protect its export-led economic recovery.
A higher yen makes Japanese exports more expensive and trims dollar-denominated overseas income while cutting import prices and contributing to deflationary pressures in the domestic economy.
Some dealers still believe Japanese monetary authorities could step in to prevent the dollar falling to around 105 yen before the end of the current fiscal year this month.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar is expected to consolidate next week as investors reassess the currency following recent losses, dealers said.
The currency ended the week at 74.92 US cents, up more than two cents on the previous week's 72.84 but still well down on the 80 US cents reached last month.
Westpac currency strategist Allison Montgomery said currency markets were unsure whether the Australian dollar had peaked or was about to resume a briefly-interrupted climb against the greenback.
"With the shake-out that we've seen in recent weeks on the back of this adjustment in very bullish global growth expectation and in risk appetite, the market's still questioning whether or not that adjustment is completely over or not," she said.
"That's probably something that's also slowed the move in the Australian dollar a bit."
Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said a 13-year high in oil prices was helping prop up the currency.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: New Zealand's dollar closed Friday at 65.63 US cents, up more than two cents on the close a week earlier of 63.40.
A report showing that growth in US mid-Atlantic manufacturing slowed in March although remaining at strong historic levels, was seen as reason to sell US dollars, Westpac currency strategist Johnathan Bayley said.
The data would have been ignored a week ago but there had been "a significant shift in dollar sentiment".
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The US dollar was at 1.6930 Singapore dollars on Friday from 1.7101 the previous week.
HONG KONG DOLLAR: Hong Kong's US-pegged dollar was at 7.7922 on Friday from 7.7956 the previous week.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The Indonesian rupiah closed the week stronger at 8,555-8,560 to the dollar compared with the previous week's close of 8,638-8,653.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The peso slipped to a record low of 56.38 to the dollar in late trading Friday following the assassination attempt on Taiwan's President Chen Shui-Bian, compared to 56.30 the previous Friday.
Central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said the peso fell due to a number of factors including the shooting, weak trade data, and political news ahead of the May 10 presidential election.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won strengthened to 1,158.40 won to the dollar Friday from 1,180.80 won a week earlier, reflecting the strong yen gaining ground against the greenback.
A dealer with ABN Amro said the dollar was expected to move within a limited range in the coming week as the demand for dollars to repay dividends for foreign shareholders was likely to be offset by the global weakness of the greenback.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar surged 0.65 percent over the week to close at 33.253 against the greenback Friday, despite the final week of campaigning for presidential elections ending with an apparent assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian.
The currency closed at 33.472 last Friday.
THAI BAHT: The baht was stable against the greenback over the past week as the Thai unit remained under pressure from a poorly performing local stock market and ongoing unrest in the kingdom's south, dealers said.
The baht closed Friday at 39.44-47 baht to the dollar compared to the previous week's close of 39.40-42.
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