Asian currencies were mixed against the US dollar in the past week as dealers said range-bound trading was expected ahead of testimony by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan in the US Congress and Senate next week.
JAPANESE YEN: The Japanese yen eased against the dollar amid general bullishness of the US unit as Japanese shares struggled to make major advancement, though players pointed out a lack of major market incentives.
Investors sold the yen with news of a potentially huge local bank merger failing to provide support, dealers said.
The Japanese currency stood at 109.47 to the dollar in mid-afternoon on Friday, falling from 108.09 to the dollar a week earlier.
Japan's fourth largest bank, UFJ Holdings, saddled with massive non-performing loans, said Wednesday it was considering merger talks with Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group.
The two banks officially said Friday they have agreed to work on the merger to create the world's biggest banking group with combined assets of 189 trillion yen (1.73 trillion dollars) by September 2005.
The news, however, failed to boost the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. That disappointed foreign exchange players, who turned yen-sellers, said Hideyuki Tsukamoto, dealer at Mizuho Bank.
Investors were also unwilling to take fresh positions ahead of testimony by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan in the US Congress and Senate next week, dealers said.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar was tipped to remain steady for a second straight week next week as economic data coming from the United States failed to send any clear message on possible US interest rate moves, dealers said.
The Aussie currency finished Friday at 72.33 cents, unchanged on the previous Friday after trading in a narrow band for most of the week.
Macquarie Bank divisional director Geoff Bowmer said the market would take its next signal from release of the latest US consumer price index (CPI) later Friday and he predicted there would be no shocks.
"The CPI data is expected to be relatively bland and the fear is that everyone will just shrug when the data comes out," he said.
"The balance of expectations is that there won't be any shock out of it. The Aussie has lost its upward momentum and my feeling is it will range between 71.80 to 72.40." National Australia Bank currency strategists said the weakness which has been associated with the US dollar over recent weeks is likely to give way to a period of relative stability.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: New Zealand's dollar ended the week worth 65.24 US cents, slightly down from the 65.75 cents close a week earlier.
A broker said the kiwi was likely to stick to recent ranges, between 65.30 and 65.35 cents.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The US dollar was at 1.7060 Singapore dollars Friday from 1.7039 the previous week.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's US-pegged dollar was at 7.7994 on Friday from 7.7992 the previous week.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The Indonesian rupiah ended the week stronger at 8,905-8,920 to the dollar compared with 8,920-8,930 the previous week.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso traded lower at 55.995 to the dollar late Friday, compared to 55.790 on July 9.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won closed at 1,164.50 won per dollar Friday, compared with 1,149.30 won a week earlier, as the US currency regained its strength against the yen and concerns over South Korea's economic fundamentals increased.
Dealers said overseas players were likely to buy more dollars to hedge against possible weakening of the won amid weak fundamentals.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar shed 0.47 percent over the week to end at 33.877 against the greenback Friday.
The unit stood at 33.700 Monday and closed at 33.732 Tuesday. It finished at 33.787 Wednesday and ended at 33.911 Thursday. The currency closed at 33.719 last Friday.
THAI BAHT: The Thai baht dropped slightly against the dollar over the past week due to losses on the local stock market, dealers said.
The unit closed Friday at 40.80-83 baht to three dollar compared to the last week's close of 40.76-78.
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