Most Asian units down on yen weakness
Most Asian units down on yen weakness
Dow Jones, Singapore
The U.S. dollar's modest advance against the yen Friday kept pressure on most Asian currencies in the absence of any significant domestic developments in most markets.
The Singapore dollar, Thai baht, South Korean won, New Taiwan dollar and Philippine peso all weakened. The Indonesian rupiah strengthened slightly on expectations that the first tranche of Bank Central Asia (BCA) sale proceeds will flow into the market next week, analysts said.
The yen wandered aimlessly against the U.S. dollar for most of the day, finishing slightly lower on the heels of a decline in local stock prices and comments from Japanese policymakers indicating that no new fiscal anti-deflation measures are forthcoming.
"Comments by Japanese officials suggest there is almost no risk of them pulling a rabbit out of a hat in the form of a meaningful and effective near-term policy response to the country's enduring deflation problem," JP Morgan said in a note to clients.
Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at 132.26 yen, up from 131.93 yen late Thursday in New York.
The yen could get some support next week from asset repatriation by Japanese companies ahead of the March 31 fiscal year-end. However, gains will likely be limited by a range of yen-negative factors, including Japan's poor economic outlook.
The won tracked the yen to a weaker finish in light trading, closing at 1,328.4 won to the U.S. dollar compared with 1,326.8 won a day earlier.
Government authorities in Jakarta took advantage of recent positive investor sentiment to help prop up the rupiah, as the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, or IBRA, sold dollars in the afternoon, according to dealers.
The dollar ended at Rp 9,835, compared with Rp 9,860 late Thursday.
The market has turned more bullish on the rupiah lately following the government's long-awaited sale of its 51 percent stake in BCA to Farallon Capital of the U.S., a move that spurred hopes there might be progress on banking reform in the nation.
The Philippine peso followed the yen to a weaker close, but recouped some of its early losses after some dollar remittance inflows from overseas Filipino workers found their way into the currency market late in the session.
The dollar closed at 51.095 peso on the Philippine Dealing System, up from 51.065 peso Thursday.
Likewise, the Singapore dollar followed the yen lower.
Near the end of Asian trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.8289, up from S$1.8247 late Thursday.
In Bangkok, the baht fell against the U.S. currency on dollar buying by offshore counterparties, as the dollar rose to finish at 43.36 baht, up slightly from 43.30 baht at the previous day's close.