SINGAPORE: Most emerging Asian currencies eased on Friday, ahead of US jobs data, and suffered weekly losses, while the Thai baht underperformed on rising political tension.
Hundreds of thousands of Thai government supporters are expected to descend on Bangkok this weekend in a symbolic show of force after months of sometimes violent protests aimed at bringing down Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The Philippine peso recovered initial losses as investors covered short positions on market talk that dollar buying linked to maturing bonds had been completed, traders said.
Earlier, the peso eased as March inflation unexpectedly eased to a four-month low, indicating the central bank could delay any further tightening in policy to the second half of the year.
Investors were waiting for the March US nonfarm payrolls later in the day to see if the economy is finally regaining momentum after an extreme winter.
A Reuters poll showed US employers were expected to add about 200,000 jobs in March, but some investors were already betting on a bigger number because private companies had stepped up their hiring, traders said.
The dollar hovered a near five-week high against a basket of six major currencies.
For the week, most emerging Asian currencies have weakened, led by the Indian rupee.
The rupee has lost 0.5 percent against the dollar so far this week as the central bank was suspected to have intervened to stem the currency's strength.
Singapore's dollar has slid 0.5 percent this week. The Malaysian ringgit has weakened 0.3 percent, while the baht has dropped 0.2 percent.
The peso ended the week 0.1 percent lower.
The South Korean won, however, defied regional depreciation with a 1.5 percent gain helped by stock market inflows. The rise was the largest weekly one since early September, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Taiwan's dollar also rose 0.6 percent.
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