Asian currencies close higher against dollar

Asian currencies ended the week mainly up against the US dollar, with the Australian dollar hitting a new 18-year high.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen gained slightly against the dollar on the week, but tumbled from a mid-week peak as cautious market players favoured the higher-yielding greenback. The Japanese currency stood at 123.47-449 to the dollar late Friday, slightly higher than 124.06-08 to the dollar a week earlier.
On Wednesday, it peaked at 122.41 to the dollar when investors turned cautious about yen selling after Finance Minister Koji Omi warned of the risk of one-sided bets on the yen's weakness.
But the yen then tumbled as market players kept focusing on the gap in interest rates between Japan and the United States. The US Federal Reserve on Thursday left its key lending rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, as expected, and said inflation remained its "predominant policy concern."
The statement was "lifting the value of the dollar," FX Prime Corp currency analyst Marito Ueda said Friday. At 0.5 percent, Japanese interest rates are the lowest among the major economies by far and market watchers see a risk of further yen losses. "I would say the dollar-yen exchange rate could reach near the 124 yen level pretty soon," Ueda said.
This week, market players will be watching economic indicators including Japan's "Tankan" business sentiment due out on Monday and US job data on Friday, the business daily Nikkei said on its weekend Internet edition.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar is expected to continue to gain against the greenback in the coming week after hitting a fresh 18-year-high at Friday's close.
The Aussie was trading at 85.04 US cents at 5:00 pm Friday, up from the previous week's 84.79 US cents and at its highest level in almost two decades.
Westpac chief currency strategist Robert Rennie said the Australian dollar could reach the 85.20 US cent mark early in the week if traders continued to sell the low-yielding Japanese yen.
Dealers said that in the longer term the currency was set to rise, possibly pushing the 90 US cent mark by the end of the year.
TD Securities senior currency strategist Joshua Williamson said expectations of an interest rate rise in Australia, softness in the US economy and a China-driven commodities boom were supporting the currency. He said traders also viewed Australia's political stability as an asset.
"The Australian dollar is seen as a safe haven," he said.
NEWZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar ended the week at 76.92 US cents, up from 75.39 the previous Friday. The kiwi rose early Friday above 77 US cents for the first time since it was floated in 1985, reaching a peak of 77.11 cents.
The dollar was supported by data released on Thursday showing the current account deficit had declined in the March quarter to the equivalent of 8.5 percent of gross domestic product, from 9.0 percent the previous quarter.
Economic growth data on Friday showed the economy grew 1.0 percent in the March quarter, which was in line with expectations. That sent the currency back below the 77 US cent mark.
CHINESE YUAN: The yuan closed at 7.6140 to the dollar Friday on the exchange-traded market, compared with Thursday's close of 7.6155, and a closing price of 7.6213 to the dollar the week before.
On the over-the-counter market, it ended at 7.6132 to the dollar against 7.6151 the previous day. The central bank had set the yuan central parity rate at 7.6155 to the dollar Friday, compared with 7.6178 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 US-pegged Hong Kong dollar ended the week at 7.816, from 7.813 a week earlier.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah ended the week trading at 9,045/9,055 to the dollar, compared to 9,015/9,025 to the dollar a week earlier.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso traded lower at 46.24 to the dollar on Friday from 46.06 on June 22.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The dollar was at 1.5324 Singapore dollars from 1.5374 the week before.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won rose to finish the week at 923.80 won to the dollar, as compared with 928.0 won a week earlier, on reports that South Korea's current account swung back into the black in May.
Major exporters dumped their dollar earnings as overseas players also sold the greenback for the South Korean currency, sending the value of the won higher.
South Korean authorities attempted to talk down the won when the assistant finance minister, Cho Won-Dong, told KBS radio that the government was always ready to intervene in the market for "smoothing operations."
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar was nearly flat, closing at 32.735 against the US dollar, as compared with 32.736 a week earlier.
THAI BAHT: The Thai baht was up slightly against the dollar in light trading, closing the week at 34.53-54 baht to the US greenback, as compared to 34.59-60 the previous week.