Most Asian forex rise; peso leads

The Philippine peso turned firmer after hitting a near six-week low against the dollar on Thursday on measures by the central bank to slow down the currency's appreciation. Other emerging Asian currencies also gained on exporters' demand for settlements and the prospect of drastic monetary easing by Japan's new government.
The peso weakened to 41.26 per dollar, the lowest since November 19, after the central bank governor said on Wednesday that it will impose limits on local and foreign banks' forward positions in currencies as a way to manage speculation. But it turned higher as the measures are unlikely to hurt the bright longer-term outlook, dealers said.
The Philippine currency has gained 6.6 percent against the dollar so far this year, becoming the second-best performer among emerging Asian units, on strong inflows to the country's stocks and bonds with forecasts of sustained and robust domestic economic growth.
"Investors reduced their dollar short positions as not to ruin a long weekend because of the new measure and the US fiscal cliff concerns," said a foreign bank dealer in Manila, referring to US spending cuts and tax increases. Financial markets in Philippines will be closed on Monday. Weakness in the yen following the election of a new Japanese government helped drive other regional units higher.
The Singapore dollar climbed to the strongest level in more than four years against the yen, while the won reached the highest level since May 2010. The Taiwan dollar gained as local exporters bought it for month-end settlements. But foreign banks bought US dollars, absorbing some of the bids for the island's currency, dealers said.
The won turned firmer against the dollar on demand from South Korean exporters for month-end settlements. Against the yen, the won advanced to 12.4735, its strongest since May 19, 2010, with some investors adding yen short positions. But investors were wary of potential intervention by the foreign exchange authorities to slow down further gains in the won. Some dealers suspected dollar purchases by the authorities.
The Singapore dollar advanced against the greenback on buying by a US investment bank, although its upside was limited by selling from European banks. Trading was thin. The city-state's currency hit 1.4232 to the yen, its strongest since October. The ringgit rose on demand from exporters amid subdued trading.