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Singapore dollar, ringgit advance to decade highs

The Singapore dollar rose to a 10-year high against the US dollar on speculation traders were testing the upper limit of the band in which the central bank allows the currency to trade.

The currency led gains among its Asian counterparts as the Monetary Authority of Singapore said this month it would seek a stronger currency to control inflation. Six of the 10 most actively traded currencies in Asia outside Japan rose on Friday.

The Singapore dollar rose to S$1.4523, the highest since July 1997, before trading at S$1.4557 late in Singapore on Friday.

Malaysia's ringgit climbed to the strongest in almost a decade on speculation the US Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this month to arrest a slump in the US housing market, spurring investors to buy emerging-market assets in Asia.

The ringgit gained 0.3 percent to 3.3465 per US dollar, rising 0.4 percent this week, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The South Korean won gained for a second week to touch the highest in a decade after a report on Friday showed the economy grew at the fastest pace in almost two years and as the US dollar weakened. The won closed at 909.9 on Friday, Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd said. That's the highest since September 1997.

The Taiwanese dollar added 0.1 percent to NT$32.465 on Friday.

The Vietnamese dong was at 16,083.5 against the US dollar in Hanoi, prices compiled by Bloomberg show.

Elsewhere, the Indonesian rupiah gained 0.3 percent to 9,125 per dollar and the Thai baht advanced 0.1 percent to 34.11 onshore.
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