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Dollar up vs yen, down

against other units

HONG KONG: The US dollar gained against the Japanese yen, but lost ground against most other Asian currencies this week.

JAPANESE YEN: The yen tumbled against the dollar, hitting a 26-month low of 108.00 to the dollar in mid-week due to worries over Japan's financial system. It stood at 107.37 to the dollar late Friday, against 106.45 to the dollar a week earlier.

After holding weak early in the week, the yen slumped to 108.00 to the dollar Wednesday morning but it sprang back as Bank of Japan governor Yasushi Matsushita said he expected a rise in Japan's long-term interest rates.

The yen recovered to 106.93 to the dollar on Thursday as nervous investors refrained from taking fresh positions ahead of the release of US March non-farm payroll data due out Friday night. It fell back on Friday as the dollar came back after a round of profit-taking on its earlier gains.

TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan currency strengthened to close Friday at 27.192 Taiwan dollars, up 5.4 Taiwan cents from the previous week's finish of 27.246.

Market dealers attributed the appreciation of the local unit to an influx of foreign capital for stock investment.

AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar closed at 78.39 US cents compared to 77.85 US cents last week.

However, analysts warned that the dollar could come in for a correction.

"The Australian dollar is prone to overshooting its fundamental value," a Bankers Trust economist Kylie Mussig said.

"This does not imply that the currency will correct in the near term ... nonetheless, a period of consolidation appears likely in coming months."

IBJ Australia Bank senior dealer Shane Spurway said strong local buying kept the Aussie dollar up late in the four-day week -- shortened by the Easter break.

"We should see it push higher next week," he said, adding that he expected the Aussie to hit 79.00 to 80.00 US cents "before too long."

Dealers also said the market was keen to see the outcome of the US payroll data.

The February numbers shocked the market with a 705,000 jump for the month, which caused a sell-off on bond and stock markets.

On the Reserve Bank of Australia's trade weighted index, the local unit closed at 57.2 points, compared to 56.8 points last week.

HONG KONG DOLLAR: The Hong Kong dollar ended the week at 7.7322-7.7332 to the US dollar, little changed from the previous week's close of 7.7327-7.7333.

NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar closed Thursday worth 68.28 US cents, up from 67.88 cents.

Dealers said trading was likely to remain quiet for the early part of the Easter week. The local dollar will, however, be influenced by the release late next week of a series of key statistics including the consumer price index figures.

INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The Indonesian currency closed on Thursday at 2,335 rupiah to the dollar or three rupiah stronger that at closing the previous week. The market in the predominantly Muslim country was closed for Good Friday.

MALAYSIAN RINGGIT: The ringgit closed slightly stronger against the US dollar on stronger demand by foreign buyers as a result of higher interest rates.

The local unit ended the week 27 points higher to close at 2.53 03 from 2.5330 last week.

PHILIPPINE PESO: The Philippine peso strengthened slightly to 26.200 pesos to the US dollar on April 3, the last day of the week's trading, from 26.206 pesos to the dollar on March 29.

SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The Singapore dollar ended the week slightly higher against the US dollar, to 1.4045 from 1.4095 previously. SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won strengthened from 782.50 won per dollar a week ago to 779.50 won to the greenback Saturday. The won has risen against the dollar as foreign investors brought money into South Korea to buy shares following the increase in the ceiling for their stock-market investments.

THAI BAHT: The official mid-rate was fixed Friday at 25.26 baht to one US dollar, compared with the previous week's close of 25.23 baht, a forex dealer at Thai Farmers Bank said.-AFP