Most Asian currencies fell on Friday and were on course to record weekly losses, as investors latched on to the safety of the US dollar due to the worsening economic impact from the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean won and Singapore dollar dipped 0.2% each, and were on track to record a weekly loss of 1.7% and 0.4%, respectively.
The Malaysian ringgit pared early gains to trade flat as oil prices reversed course following their biggest one-day gains in the previous session. Fluctuations in crude prices had an impact on the ringgit, as Malaysia is a net exporter of the commodity.
The Indonesian rupiah was little changed, while the onshore Chinese yuan dropped up to 0.2%, led by the central bank's weakest guidance since the 2008 global financial crisis. Meanwhile, the Philippine peso gained 0.2% and was set to be the top performer in the region this week with a weekly gain of 1%.
Financial markets in Taiwan were closed for a holiday. The Indian rupee slipped as much as 0.7% to 76.085 against the dollar, two days after resuming trade. Foreigners sold $8.13 billion worth of Indian bonds in March, the biggest monthly outflow since at least Jan. 2002.