Asian currencies ended the week lower against the dollar on expectations of further US rate rises with the latest US jobs data expected to provide support for the greenback.
US non-farms payrolls data released Friday showed US employers added a greater-than-expected 243,000 new jobs in February, the Labour Department said in a report that suggested robust US economic growth but also sparked worries about rising inflation pressures.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen ended the week lower against the dollar with market players saying Japanese interest rates were likely to remain very low for some time despite the Bank of Japan ending its super-easy monetary policy.
The yen stood at 118.23 yen against the greenback on Friday, down from 116.46 yen the previous week.
The BoJ, which ended its five-year unprecedented extra-stimulative monetary policy on Thursday, signalled it was in no rush to raise borrowing costs, saying that as long as inflation remained subdued "very low interest rates will probably be maintained for some time."
Dealers said they were awaiting US non-farm payroll data, which they expected would provide fresh support for the greenback.
The US non-farm payrolls report for February released later Friday showed US employers added 243,000 new jobs, more than the rise of 193,000 in January.
"If the non-farm payroll numbers are good enough, the dollar may test the 119 yen level and move towards the 120 yen level, as the market is shifting its attention back to wide-spread interest rate differentials," said Sumitomo Trust and Bank foreign exchange dealer Norihiro Takemura.
"Investors seem to be regaining appetite for the dollar because yesterday's (Thursday's) announcement of an end of the 'quantitative monetary easing' did not signal at all any immediate start of tightening here in Japan," he said.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar is expected to endure another weak week with the possibility of higher interest rates in the United States favouring the greenback in the days ahead, dealers said. The currency was trading at 73.49 at 5:00 pm (0600 GMT) Friday, down from the previous week's 73.76 US cents.
CMC Markets' Josh Whiting said the Aussie had endured a weak seven days as commodity prices fell and the US dollar was favoured on the possibility of interest rate rises in the United States. "I still see the Aussie weakness going into the coming week," he said.
Whiting said the Aussie struggled to get above 73.80 this week despite strong domestic employment data, which showed unemployment was down slightly to 5.2 percent in February.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar ended the week at 64.50 US cents, sharply down from 66.54 the previous Friday. Traders have been dumping the kiwi on expectations New Zealand interest rates will fall while those in US, Europe and Japan will rise.
That is despite Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard saying Thursday it was unlikely rates here would be cut this year.
ANZ Bank said the kiwi was likely to test support levels as it headed toward a medium-term target of 63.20 US cents.
CHINESE YUAN: The Chinese yuan finished over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange trading at 8.0511 to the dollar Friday, compared with a closing level of 8.0382 the previous week.
Earlier, on the exchange-traded market, the yuan ended at 8.0505 to the dollar.
Friday's central parity rate for the yuan was set at 8.0492 to the dollar. The central bank has a yuan-dollar trading band of 0.3 percent on either side of the midpoint.
On January 4, China launched an OTC system in the interbank foreign exchange market, allowing two participants to make currency trades on credit without the intervention of a third party.
HONG KONG DOLLAR: The US-pegged Hong Kong dollar traded at 7.762 on Friday, from 7.759 the previous week.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah closed Friday to end the week weaker at 9,240-9,250 to the dollar compared to the previous week's close of 9,180-9,190.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso traded lower at 51.30 to the dollar on Friday afternoon compared to 51.18 a week earlier.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The dollar was at 1.6298 Singapore dollars from 1.6195 the previous week.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won closed at 980.20 won to the dollar Friday, compared with 971.40 won a week earlier, reflecting the global strength of the US currency.
Dealers said the won was expected to move within a range of 970 and 980 to the dollar in the coming week.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar closed at 32.513 against the US dollar, down from 32.401 a week earlier.
THAI BAHT: The Thai baht rose against the dollar in the past week mainly in line with the Japanese yen while domestic political uncertainties deterred further gains for the baht amid a moderate trading week, dealers said.
The Thai unit closed Friday at 39.05-07 baht to the dollar compared to the previous week's close of 39.37-39.
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