Yen ups against dollar following G7 meeting
Yen ups against dollar following G7 meeting
HONG KONG (AFP): The yen strengthened against the dollar
following the lack of concern expressed by the G7 meeting of
finance ministers about its strength.
Elsewhere in the region the Australian dollar continued to
languish against the dollar while the Indonesian rupiah fell
through a six-month low. Trade was shortened in most countries
due to a holiday on Friday.
The Japanese yen edged up against the dollar during the past
week as a Group of Seven (G7) statement said it was unconcerned
about the yen's strength, dealers said.
The Japanese unit stood at 105.67-69 to the dollar late
Friday, compared with 105.85-88 a week earlier.
The yen shot up into the 103 range on Monday with investors
cheering the absence of concern about the yen's strength in the
G7 statement on April 15, dealers said.
The Indonesian rupiah weakened sharply during the week falling
through a six-month low to 7,965 to the dollar at Friday's close
compared with 7,618 to the greenback last week.
The Thai baht firmed marginally over the week to 37.90-92
compared to last week's close of 38.04-06 but could not
strengthen further as many foreign investors were sidelined for
the Easter weekend and did not need to buy the local currency.
The Hong Kong dollar was trading at 7.7882-7.7887 to the
greenback on Thursday, very slightly down on the previous week's
7.7878-7.788.
The Singapore dollar appreciated to 1.6965 against the US
dollar on April 20 from 1.7085 on April 14 on the back of strong
non-oil domestic figures for March and expectations of a stronger
yen, dealers said.
The Taiwan dollar slipped 0.1 percent against the greenback
over the week to close at 30.530 on Friday amid a volatile
bourse, dealers said.
"The currency is expected to regain strength in the coming
week as the stock market stabilizes and foreign capital outflow
eases," dealers said.
The currency closed at 30.539 Monday. It rose slightly to
30.535 Tuesday but fell to 30.550 Wednesday. The unit ended at
30.552 Thursday.
The Philippine peso closed lower, week-on-week at 41.230 pesos
to the US dollar on Wednesday from 41.170 pesos on April 15.
There was no trading on Thursday and Friday due to the Easter
holidays.
The South Korean won strengthened from 1,111 won to the dollar
a week earlier to 1,080.50 won Friday.
Dealers said the won is expected to trade within a range of
between 1,050 won and 1,100 won in the coming week as dollars
from export earnings are expected to flow into the market toward
the end of the month.
The Australian dollar faces another week of languishing below
the psychologically-important 60 US cent mark, as interest rate
differential factors and the persistent 'old economy' tag prove
poor directors for the currency, analysts said Thursday.
Craig James, chief economist for Colonial State Bank said the
only factor likely to lift the currency remained the possibility
of a recovery in commodity prices.
On the Reserve Bank's Trade Weighted Index the Australian
dollar ended trade on Thursday at 52.5, the same as the previous
week.