Asian currencies were mostly up against the struggling US dollar amid ongoing concerns about the poor health of the US economy and credit markets.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen soared to a three-year high against the dollar in Tokyo amid growing fears of recession in the United States.
The release of disappointing US job data on Friday was seen likely to further depress the dollar after it hit a fresh three-year low against the yen and a record low against the euro earlier in the day.
The yen stood at 102.43-45 to the dollar here at the end of daytime trading Friday after touching 102.32 to the dollar, its highest since January 2005. The rate compared with 104.33-35 to the dollar a week earlier.
A weaker-than-expected US jobs report would add to speculation that the Fed may make a steeper rate cut than the 50 basis points reduction the market has been anticipating, dealers said earlier.
Markets had been already spooked when US lender Thornburg Mortgage and a Carlyle Group bond fund disclosed problems with investments backed by mortgages. "The market still shows a stereotypical reaction to any fresh news or leads concerning the subprime loan and credit problems and therefore immediately buys into the yen," said NTT Smarttrade director Takashi Kudo.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar is expected to fall next week as fallout from the global credit crunch continues to weigh on foreign exchange markets, dealers said.
The Australian dollar was trading at 93.26 US cents at 5:00pm (0600 GMT) Friday, down sharply from the previous week's 94.56 US cents. Even an 0.25 point interest rate hike to a 12-year-high of 7.25 percent failed to lift the Aussie as the credit crisis saw demand for high-yielding currencies plummet. "Credit markets are in absolute turmoil. It's easy to be downbeat about the Aussie," Westpac chief currency strategist Robert Rennie said.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar ended the week at 79.50 US cents, down from 81.52 US cents the previous Friday. The kiwi was volatile during the week, mirroring ructions on world share markets as fears about the deepening sub-prime credit problems grew.
It had recovered some of the ground by Thursday but fell again at the end of the week amid renewed tremors in stock markets.
CHINESE YUAN: The yuan closed at 7.1075 to the dollar Friday on the exchange-traded market, compared with 7.1107 the week before.
On the over-the-counter market, it ended at 7.1110 to the dollar against 7.1059 the previous day. The central bank had set the yuan central parity rate at 7.1090 to the dollar Friday, compared with 7.1168 on Thursday. The People's Bank of China allows a trading band of 0.5 percent on either side of the midpoint.
HONG KONG DOLLAR: The city's currency finished the week at 7.786 to the US dollar, compared with 7.779 the previous Friday.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah ended the week trading on Thursday at 9,062/9,072 to the dollar compared 9,062/9,068 to the dollar a week earlier. The Jakarta Stock Exchange was closed Friday for the Hindu New Year holiday.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso was at 40.850 to the dollar on Friday, down slightly from 40.455 the previous week.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The dollar was at 1.3864 Singapore dollars on Friday from 1.3920 the previous week.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won fell to its lowest level against the US dollar in more than 16 months on Friday, closing at 957.5 won in Seoul, compared to the previous day's close of 949.6 won and 939.00 won a week earlier.
The sharp decline in the won's value came as investors looked for safer assets amid global credit market troubles and foreign investors continued to cut investment in the local stock market. Dealers said the won was expected to trade between 952 and 962 won per dollar on Monday in accordance with the movement of the US stock market.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar rose 0.65 percent during the week to close at 30.750 to the US dollar, from 30.950 the previous week.
THAI BAHT: The Thai baht gained against the dollar, still trading near 10-year highs, after the Bank of Thailand scrapped capital controls one week ago, dealers said.
Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee Friday that he was satisfied with the baht's movement, which he said had been stable over the past week.
He said he was confident that Thai monetary authorities could prevent speculation in the Thai unit without the currency controls. The Thai unit closed Friday at 31.52-54 baht to one dollar compared to the previous week's close of 31.96-98.
Comments
Comments are closed.