Asian currencies mostly ended the week lower against the dollar on the back of continued confidence in the greenback, buoyed by solid US economic data.
JAPANESE YEN: The yen slipped to a one-month low against the dollar as a series of recent upbeat US economic data continued to uphold dealer confidence in the greenback.
The Japanese currency stood at 107.50-52 to the dollar late Friday, down from 106.90-92 to the dollar a week earlier. It fell as low as 107.79 to the dollar during the week.
Solid US economic data, in such areas as employment, trade and consumer prices, have been bolstering the dollar this month, dealers said. The release of a weaker-than-expected Philadephia Federal Reserve survey on Thursday failed to sway market players.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi forex manager Mitsuru Sahara said on Friday sentiment for the dollar "remains strong because strong US retail sales and employment figures offset weaker indicators such as the Philadelphia Fed index."
Mizuho Investors Securities currency strategist Hiroshi Sakurai said the market will keenly follow the revised January-March US gross domestic product data to be released next Thursday.
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar ended the week lower Friday thanks to falling commodity prices as support for the greenback gained momentum.
The Australian dollar closed at 75.89/94 US cents on Friday compared with 76.54 US cents the previous week.National Australia Bank strategists said the dollar was likely to remain bound within a range of 75.30-76.30 US cents.
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar ended the week lower against the US dollar with the greenback supported by expectations the Federal Reserve will keep raising rates at a steady pace, dealers said.
The kiwi was trading at 71.00 US cents late on Friday, down from 71.62 the previous week.
The New Zealand government's budget late in the week had no impact on currency trading, the dealers said.
BNZ currency strategist Sue Trinh said given the very stable fiscal environment in New Zealand, external factors, including the terms of trade and foreign currency moves as well as action by the local central bank had more of an impact on the local dollar.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The dollar was at 1.6568 Singapore dollars from 1.6545 the previous week.
HONG KONG DOLLAR: Hong Kong's US-pegged dollar was at 7.792 from 7.7989 the previous week. Last week the peg was reset on a trading band between 7.75 and 7.85.
SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won closed at 1,004.40 won per dollar Friday, compared with 1,001.50 won a week earlier, as the greenback strenghtened against the yen and the euro in overseas markets.
The won strengthened sharply against the dollar, hitting 999.50 to the US unit at one point in morning trade on Thursday.
The won's sharp rise came after Bank of Korea Governor Park Seung was quoted as telling the Financial Times that the central bank would stop intervening in the foreign exchange market in order to contain the won's rise.
Dealers said the bank apparently had to spend up to one billion dollars to stem the won's rise on Thursday alone, paying heavily for the governor's remarks.
The central bank said Park was "misunderstood." It said Park did not mean that the bank will entirely stop intervening in the market but that it will continue "smoothing" operations aimed at reducing currency fluctuations.
TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar declined 0.01 percent over the week to end at 31.319 against the greenback Friday. It finished at 31.315 a week ago.
The unit stood at 31.411 Monday. It finished at 31.372 Tuesday and closed at 31.383 Wednesday. It ended at 31.300 Thursday.
PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso traded lower at 54.575 to the dollar on Friday afternoon compared to 54.20 to the dollar on May 13.
THAI BAHT: The baht dropped sharply against the US dollar over the past week as offshore investors liquidated regional currencies after they became confident the Chinese government will not float the yuan in the near future, dealers said.
The baht hit a six-month low at 40.01 during the active trading week. The Thai unit closed Friday at 39.90-92 baht to one dollar compared with last week's close of 39.54-57.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The Indonesian rupiah closed trading Friday at 9,480/9,490 to the dollar compared with 9,483/9,488 the previous week.
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