In early trading on Friday, the US dollar surged to a 1-week high against the Indian rupee. The dollar also strengthened to a 4-day high against the Philippine peso and a 2-day high against the currencies of Malaysia and South Korea.
Against its Singapore and Thailand counterparts, the dollar climbed in early Asian trading but pared its gains shortly. The dollar thus eased from a 4-day high against the Singapore dollar and a 3-day high against the Thai Baht.
Meanwhile, the US currency slumped to a 17-day low against the Hong Kong dollar.
The markets in China and Taiwan remain closed today in observance of the Chinese New Year holiday. Both bourses are scheduled to re-open on Monday.
The US dollar weakened against the Singapore dollar after climbing to a 4-day high of 1.5100 by about 7:30 pm ET Thursday. The pair fell to 1.5060 at 10:40 pm ET, compared to 1.5077 hit late New York yesterday. The immediate support level for the greenback is seen at 1.497.
During early Asian deals on Friday, the US dollar edged down to a 17-day low against the Hong Kong currency. At 9:45 pm ET, the pair touched 7.7542, down from Thursday's closing value of 7.7568. The next downside target level for the US currency is seen around 7.751.
The dollar that advanced against the Thai Baht in early Friday Asian trading lost ground after hitting a 3-day high of 34.9950 by about 8:15 pm ET. The pair moved to 34.8650 at 9:45 pm ET and this may be compared to Thursday's close of 34.92. On the downside, 34.85 is seen as the next target level for the dollar-baht pair.
Against the Malaysian ringgit, the US dollar showed strength during early Asian deals on Friday. The dollar-ringgit pair that closed Thursday's North American session at 3.6005 reached a 2-day high of 3.6160 at 7:05 pm ET. The pair is currently trading at 3.6110 with 3.628 seen as the next target level.
In early deals on Friday, the US dollar strengthened against the Indian rupee. The dollar-rupee pair that closed yesterday's New York session at 48.95 rose to 49.1350 at 10:40 pm ET. This set a 1-week high for the dollar. If the pair advances further, it may test resistance around the 49.3 level.
The dollar climbed to a 4-day high of 47.3950 against the Philippine peso during early Asian deals on Friday. The next upside target level for the dollar is seen at 47.6. At yesterday's North American session close, the dollar-peso pair was quoted at 46.46.
The Peso plummeted as the Philippine central bank lowered its key policy rates by 50 basis points yesterday with immediate effect. The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reduced the overnight borrowing rate to 5% and the overnight lending rate to 7%. This rate cut follows another 50 basis points cut in December.
Against the South Korean won, the dollar surged to a 2-day high of 1388.55 in early Asian trading on Friday. If the dollar-won pair moves up further, it may find resistance around the 1399 level. The pair closed Thursday deals at 1369.40.
South Korea posted a current account surplus of $860 million in December, marking the third consecutive month with a surplus, the Bank of Korea said today. That's down from the revised $1.91 billion surplus in November. For all of 2008, the current account balance was a deficit of $6.41 billion after a surplus of $5.88 billion in 2007.
Looking ahead, South Korea will announce December numbers for industrial output, leading index and service industry output. Industrial output is expected to decline 18.5 percent on year after a 14.7 percent annual contraction in November. The leading index was up an annual 2.8 percent in the previous month. Service industry output is called lower by 4.8 percent following the 1.6 percent annual gain a month earlier.
Thailand is set to announce December data for current account, imports, exports, trade balance, manufacturing index and manufacturing production, as well as foreign reserves numbers through January 23. The current account is forecast at $294.2 million, with imports down 7.2 percent on year and exports lower by 15.4 percent. The trade balance is expected to show a surplus of $351.6 million after an $896 million shortfall in November. Foreign reserves are expected to post an increase of 110.5 percent on year following the 110.8 percent annual expansion in the previous reporting period.
Turning to the US, today will be a busy day with the releases of advance fourth quarter GDP report, employment cost index, Chicago January PMI and the University of Michigan's final January consumer confidence index.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.