Asian currencies ended the week mostly down amid global credit market worries, though the yen continued to make gains and hovered near an 18-month high against the greenback.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen has hovered around an 18-month high against the dollar in the past week as investors shunned risk amid credit market concerns and worries the US economy was losing momentum.
The Japanese currency rallied to the week's high of 109.22 to the dollar on Tuesday and stood at 110.08-11 to the dollar in Tokyo late Friday, up from 112.65-68 to the dollar a week earlier.
Thomson IFR analyst John Noonan said: "The markets remain nervous, with fears of more bad news to come from the credit markets dominating sentiment."
Commerzbank currency trader Ryohei Muramatsu saw no imminent end to a liquidity squeeze from the US subprime loan crisis. "The only solution available now is a rate cut," he said, predicting successive interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
Market players were to watch the weekend meeting in South Africa of finance ministers of the Group of 20 developing nations. Currencies were set to be on the discussion table, although traders did not expect concerted policy action.
"Worries over the US economic slowdown are expected to continue bolstering the yen's strength and the bond market," the Japanese business daily Nikkei said in its Internet edition on Friday.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar's tumble from recent highs is expected to continue next week as risk-averse investors opt for safe options such as bonds, dealers said.
The Australian dollar ended the week at 88.58 cents at 5:00 pm (0700 GMT), down more than four cents on the previous week's 92.81 US cents.
AMP Capital Investors chief economist Shane Oliver said investors' uncertainty about the global economic outlook had outweighed enthusiasm arising from the widening interest rate gap between the United States and Australia.
"The Australian dollar is vulnerable to further weakness in the short term on the back of uncertainty about the global growth outlook and commodity prices. However, the trend is likely to remain up," Oliver said.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar ended local trading on Friday at 75.43 US cents, down from 77.68 US cents the previous week.
The local currency fell after continuing global market jitters, which slashed demand for high yield currencies such as the New Zealand dollar.
The kiwi is likely to remain under pressure due to concerns about offshore markets, said Westpac currency strategist Michael Gordon.
CHINESE YUAN: The yuan closed at 7.4223 to the dollar Friday on the exchange-traded market, compared with Thursday's close of 7.4208, and a closing price of 7.4116 to the dollar the week before.
On the over-the-counter market, it ended at 7.4257 to the dollar against 7.4228 the previous day. The central bank had set the yuan central parity rate at 7.4336 to the dollar Friday, compared with 7.4307 on Thursday.
The People's Bank of China allows a trading band of 0.5 percent on either side of the midpoint.
HONG KONG: The Hong Kong dollar closed the week at 7.784 to the greenback, compared with 7.7776 a week earlier.
INDONESIA RUPIAH: The rupiah ended the week trading at 9,320/9,325 to the dollar compared with 9,122/9,128 to the dollar a week earlier.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso fell to 43.50 to the dollar on Friday afternoon from 42.795 to the dollar on November 9.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The dollar was at 1.4535 Singapore dollars on Friday from 1.4416 the week before.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won closed at 917.40 against the dollar Friday, compared with 906.80 a week earlier.
Dealers said the demand for the dollar increased as foreign investors reduced holdings in the local equity market to take profit, adding that the greenback was still preferred amid global credit market worries. They said the won would move next week in a range between 915 and 917 against the dollar.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar fell 0.15 percent in the week to November 16 to close at 32.336 against the US dollar. The local currency closed at 32.288 a week earlier.
THAI BAHT: The Thai baht held steady against the dollar over the past week as investors remained jittery over the fallout from the US subprime mortgage crisis, dealers said. The baht closed Friday at 33.87-88 to the dollar, little changed from 33.90-91 a week earlier.