Key Asian currencies ended the week mainly down against the US dollar as the greenback continued to strengthen amid hopes that the subprime credit crisis is over.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen surged against the dollar in the past week as players took a breather after buying up the US currency on hopes that the worst of the recent credit crisis on Wall Street is over.
The yen stood at 103.50 to the dollar on Friday, up from 104.62 a week ago. "It's natural for the dollar to take a break" after its recent rebound, said Yosuke Hosokawa, head of forex at Chuo Mitsui Trust Bank.
"Although dollar positive sentiment has eased slightly, a lot of players still believe the greenback is well supported" as bad news related to the US economy appears to be abating, he said.
Worries over the US subprime mortgage crisis had generally abated after a series of aggressive interest rate cuts in Washington to bolster the economy, analysts said.
But while markets are moving on improving sentiment, traders are also questioning whether they should continue buying US stocks and the dollar, said Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. For the dollar to continue rising, "there should be clear proof that the US credit problem has completely been resolved, and that the US economy will make a V-shaped recovery," he added.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar's performance next week will be closely linked to wages data and expectations about the central bank's thinking onents at 5.00pm on Friday, up more than a cent on the previous week's 92.90 US cents.
ANZ senior markets economist Katie Dean said the Australian dollar lost some ground Friday after the Reserve Bank downgraded its economic outlook, making an interest rate hike appear less likely.
But she said Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens, who has expressed concerns recently about the potential for wages to fuel inflation, may clarify his position in a speech due next Thursday after new wages data is released.
"The major risk for the Australian dollar over the coming week will be the wage cost index and the governor Stevens' speech on Thursday," she said. "A stronger than expected wages result could see the Australian dollar move back towards the recent highs against the US dollar at around the 95 US cents level."
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar ended local trading Friday at 77.20 US cents, slightly down from 77.77 the previous week The kiwi firmed during the early part of the week but slipped on Wednesday after a central bank report highlighted risks to the slowing local economy.
It lost a further cent against the US dollar on Thursday following shock news that New Zealand lost 29,000 jobs in the March quarter, the biggest fall for 19 years.
Previous expectations that the central bank would not cut interest rates until the end of the year were revised, with most economists saying a cut could now be expected by September.
CHINESE YUAN: The yuan closed at 6.9916 to the dollar Friday on the exchange-traded market, compared with Thursday's close of 7.0078, and a closing price of 6.9870 to the dollar last Wednesday. On the over-the-counter market, it ended at 6.9918 to the dollar against 7.0052 the previous day. The central bank had set the yuan central parity rate at 7.0005 to the dollar Friday, compared with 7.0010 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 dollar finished the week at 7.7962 to the greenback, unchanged from the week before.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah ended the week's trading at 9,242/9,253 to the dollar compared with 9,230/9,235 a week earlier.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippines peso fell to 42.480 to the dollar on Friday afternoon from 42.345 on May 2.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The dollar was at 1.3712 Singapore dollars on Friday from 1.3628 the previous week.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won, which had weakened for seven days in a row to touch the lowest level since November 2005 on Thursday, rebounded slightly to close at 1,044.70 won per dollar Friday. For the week to May 9, it had weakened 3.5 percent as the local currency was hit by high oil prices and the country's continuing current account deficits.
The central Bank of Korea on Thursday left its key interest rate unchanged for the ninth consecutive month to curb inflation, even though it warned of a further slowdown in growth this year.
The bank said it now expects growth in 2008 of 4.5 percent or lower, down from its earlier forecast of 4.7 percent and far below the new government's target of six percent.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar fell 0.65 percent in the week to May 9 to close at 30.653 against the US dollar. The local currency closed at 30.455 a week ago.
THAI BAHT: The Thai baht depreciated against the dollar this week due to high demand from importers and low demand from exporters, a dealer said. The Thai unit closed Friday at 31.96-97 baht to one dollar compared with last week's close of 31.71-72 baht.