Thailand's baht held near its strongest level in a decade as overseas investors increased purchases of the nation's stocks.
The baht had the biggest weekly gain since January after rising through 34 baht per US dollar on Thursday for the first time since the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
A break of 36 baht to the dollar prompted the government on Dec. 18 to impose restrictions on capital inflows, a move that sparked a 3.2 percent decline in the currency that week.
Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase on Thursday said the bank was "working" to curb the advance.
The baht was at 34.03 per dollar in onshore trading on Friday, taking gains for the week to 1.5 percent, the most since the five days ended Jan. 19. It rose as high as 33.97 on Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The baht is the best performer over the past month among 10 of the most-active currencies in Asia.
NT dollar
The US dollar gained ground against the new Taiwan dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange on Friday, increasing NT$0.020 to close at NT$32.809.
The US currency opened at NT$32.759 and fluctuated between NT$32.759 and NT$32.882.
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar had the best week since March 23 on prospects the island's economic growth will accelerate.
The currency on Thursday reached the strongest level since May 16 before a government report next week that may show GDP expanded an annualized 7.7 percent in the second quarter after rising 7.6 percent in the first, a Bloomberg News survey showed. The report is due on Tuesday.
The Singapore dollar advanced 0.7 percent this week to S$1.5209, rising for a third week.
Won
South Korea's won rose on speculation increasing exports will help boost growth in Asia's third-largest economy.
The won on Friday climbed 0.3 percent to 919.60 against the US dollar, taking this week's advance to 0.5 percent, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd.
Asian roundup
Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippine peso advanced 0.4 percent to 46.065 this week, while the Malaysian ringgit and the Indonesian rupiah were little changed in the five-day period at 3.4492 and 9,033, respectively. The Vietnamese dong traded at 16,128 from 16,135 last Friday.
US dollar
The US dollar weakened against the euro on Friday despite a strong US jobs report, as it failed to reverse expectations that the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates could be a reduction.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 132,000 last month, which was close to consensus, while May's data were revised up to an impressive 190,000 increase.
Yen, euro
Friday afternoon in New York, the euro was at US$1.3623 from US$1.3598 late on Thursday, while the US dollar was at ¥23.39 from ¥22.90.
The euro was at ¥68.09 from ¥67.10 late on Thursday. Sterling was at US$2.0107 from US$2.0118, while the dollar was at 1.2183 Swiss francs from SF1.2173 late on Thursday.
Despite the dollar's struggles against the euro, the strong jobs report helped the buck regain its footing against the yen and exit the session stronger than its day-earlier numbers.
Sterling
The British pound suffered overnight despite a government report that showed UK manufacturing output reached its strongest level in almost six years in May. But the pound rebounded during the New York session on the back of general dollar weakness and ended the session little changed from day-earlier numbers.
Sterling is one of the best-performing currencies among the majors, and on Wednesday reached a 26-year high of US$2.0206 against the dollar on expectations that the Bank of England will continue to hike rates this year.
Canadian dollar
Elsewhere, Canada's dollar surged to a fresh 30-year high on Friday, boosted by general weakness in the US dollar and a Canadian jobs report showing Canada's economy created more than twice as many jobs as expected last month.
Employers hired a net 34,800 workers, the most since March and well above the 17,000 rise that economists expected.
The data pushed the US dollar to as low as C$1.0462, its lowest mark since May 1977 and down from C$1.0570 late on Thursday.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01