The US dollar fell for a fifth week against the euro, matching a losing streak that ended in December 2008, as traders speculated the US Federal Reserve will further ease monetary policy, debasing the greenback.
The US currency dropped this week to a 15-year low against the yen and fell to parity with the Australian and Canadian dollars before the upcoming week’s Fed report on regional economies.
The US currency fell 0.3 percent to US$1.3977 per euro, from US$1.3939 on Oct. 8. It slid to US$1.4159 on Friday, the weakest level since Jan. 26. The greenback slid 0.6 percent to ¥81.45, from ¥81.93 the previous week. It touched ¥80.88 on Friday, the weakest level since April 1995, when it reached the post-World War II low of ¥79.75. The euro dropped 0.3 percent to ¥113.88, from ¥114.19.
The pound rose to its strongest level since January against the US dollar on Friday.
Sterling gained 0.6 percent to £0.8744 per euro, paring its fifth weekly decline to 0.2 percent. It was 0.2 percent stronger at US$1.6041, after climbing to its strongest level since Jan. 29.
Asian currencies completed a seventh weekly advance, led by the Singapore dollar, as relatively high yields and the world’s fastest economic growth spurred demand for assets in the region’s developing nations.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index climbed to its highest level since April 2008 on speculation central banks will be more tolerant of currency gains after Singapore said on Thursday it will target faster appreciation in the next six months.
The New Taiwan dollar completed a seventh straight weekly advance, the longest stretch of gains since June last year. The NT dollar also reached the strongest level in more than two years after China on Friday reported record imports for last month. China is Taiwan’s No. 1 overseas market.
The NT dollar rose 1 percent this week to close at NT$30.793, according to Taipei Forex Inc. On Friday, it touched NT$30.540, the strongest level since July 2008.
The yuan rose to the strongest level since 1993 against the US dollar on Friday. The yuan appreciated 0.4 percent this week to 6.6412.
Malaysia’s ringgit climbed 0.8 percent to 3.0855 per US dollar this week. The currency touched a 13-year high this week, as did Thailand’s baht.
The Thai baht strengthened 0.8 percent to 29.82, an 11th straight weekly gain.
India’s rupee climbed 0.8 percent to 44.10 after global funds pumped US$1.8 billion into the nation’s equities in the first four days of the week.
The Philippine peso rose 0.5 percent from a week ago to 43.185, while Indonesia’s rupiah was 0.2 percent stronger at 8,913.
The Singapore dollar climbed 1.2 percent this week to S$1.2965, its best performance in six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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