Most Asian currencies gained ground this week as fears of a US rate hiked eased, while the Japanese yen was buoyed up by robust economic data and a rebound of Japanese stocks.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen gained ground against the dollar in the past week on robust economic data and rebound of Japanese stocks, dealers and analysts said.
The yen was 112.69 to the dollar in Friday afternoon, up from 114.68 a week ago.
The benchmark Nikkei average of 225 shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at 11,070.25 points Friday, up 2.03 percent or 220.62 points from a week earlier.
"Dollar-yen trading was driven by moves in the Nikkei index," said Tetsuya Aida, dealer at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
The yen buying was prompted also by an announcement that Japan's current account surplus in March jumped 13.1 percent to bring the fiscal year surplus to a record 17.27 trillion yen (150.8 billion dollars).
It was followed Tuesday by a government announcement that gross domestic product grew 1.4 percent in the three months to March compared with the previous quarter.
The strong data helped buoy the yen against the dollar, which had been firming on the notion the Federal Reserve would have to raise interest rates.
"The dollar became top heavy as buying on expectations of higher US rates ran its course," said Kikuko Takeda, currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Market players expected no fresh announcements on foreign exchange rates to emerge from a weekend meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers in New York, Aida added.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar is expected to rally next week after rebounding from seven-month lows against the greenback, dealers said.
The Aussie finished the week on 70.20 US cents, up from last week's 68.57 US cents, as speculation of an imminent US interest rate rise eased.
Macquarie Bank divisional director Geoff Bowmer said the Australian currency's direction was entirely dependent on how the US dollar fared and tipped the local currency to rise modestly.
"There's no independent story here for the Aussie, you can't tie it to a news story or a report or merger and acquisition activity," he said.
"This is US dollar weakness against everything which has acted to lift the Aussie 50 points. The dollar is looking for an excuse to break the 70.20 resistance and push towards 71.50 cents."
However, Saint George Bank foreign exchange trading manager Stuart Moore said the Aussie was likely to tread water, rather than rise.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The Indonesian rupiah ended the week slightly weaker at 9,070/9,080 to the dollar compared with 9,030/9,040 the previous week.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: New Zealand's dollar closed Friday worth 60.78 US cents, up on the 59.85 cents of a week earlier.
BNZ currency strategist Sue Trinh said the kiwi was likely to continue to be range bound and picked a trading range of between 60.50 cents and 61 cents.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The US dollar was at 1.7165 Singapore dollars Friday from 1.7294 the previous week.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won strengthened from 1,187 won per dollar to 1,175.30 won to the greenback Friday, reflecting the weak US currency against the yen buoyed by strong Japanese economic recovery.
A dealer with the Korea First Bank said concerns over possible government intervention to prop up the dollar prevent the won from appreciating further.
THAI BAHT: The Thai baht gained slightly against the greenback in the past week in line with other regional currencies, and as world oil prices steadied, dealers said.
The baht closed Friday at 40.70-73 baht to one dollar compared to last week's close of 40.93-95.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar rose 0.3 percent over the week to close at 33.549 against the greenback Friday on the back of stronger Japanese yen. The unit stood at 33.686 Monday and finished at 33.683 Tuesday. It rose to 33.516 Wednesday and ended at 33.617 Thursday. The currency closed at 33.663 last Friday.
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